Galway's Brilliant Centre Half Back Tommy Joe Gilmore Deserved that All-Ireland medal Undoubtedly the zenith of Galway's Gaelic footballing fortunes arrived in the sixties as the gallant Tribesmen stormed emphatically to an historic three-in-a-row. The footballers of Galway had arrived with a gargantuan bang - and intended to stay for a while. Times have been lean though since a seventh All-Ireland title was secured in 1966 and while names like Offaly, Donegal and Derry were added to the lengthening list of Sam Maguire recipients, the Galwaymen have failed to build on their all-conquering exploits of 1964 -'66. They came close though, particularly during the early seventies when Offaly, Cork and then Dublin all conspired to bury their Championship hopes at the very final hurdle. Centre half back on three All-Ireland teams was Cortoon's Tommy Joe Gilmore who, while regretting the fact that he didn't manage to pick up the greatest honour in the game, enjoyed a long glittering career for both club and county. And the former intercounty star is confident that his native patch can get the better of Leitrim on Sunday and progress to their first Connacht final in four years. Born and bred in the village of Cortoon just outside Tuam, T.J. Gilmore spent almost twenty years from 1968 onwards in the Senior ranks of local Cortoon Shamrocks and helped the small rural club to county semi final appearances in 1975 and 1978. Centre half back is the position he will always be remembered for, but he played in a variety of locations from full back to full forward. Actually pulling on the No. 14 jersey to help his county to victory over Roscommon in the 1981 National League decider. A county Minor in 1967 and on Under 21 for two further years, it was quite a magnificent achievement for the Cortoon man to break into the county's star studded Senior team. "Looking back it was difficult to get in because at that time we were only a Junior club. It wasn't until 1971 that we won the Junior Championship to clinch Senior status, which we maintained until 1982", he reflects. Any player who has suffered it will tell how bitterly disappointing it is to leave Croke Park empty-handed on All-Ireland final day. Hapless T.J. was subjected to the painful ordeal on three occasions and, not surprisingly, would love the opportunity of venturing into the vaults of time and re-writing the record books. Failure to get his hands on an All-Ireland souvenir was a bitter pill to swallow and by far the biggest regret of his career. "It was a big disappointment for me because it's every player's ambition to get one. That would have been a great highlight for me. As well as playing on three teams which lost finals I was also a sub on the '83 side which went down to Dublin, but at that stage I was starting to suffer with hamstring troubles", he points out. The Cortoon Shamrocks star was resident centre half back on the Galway sides which lost to Offaly, Cork and Dublin in 1971 / '73 and '74 respectively. In hindsight, he feels that had the Galwegians a trusty place-kicker on board then things might have been different. It's a big disappointment to appear in three finals in four years and not win one. To get so close makes it harder to accept, but I firmly believe that the lack of a reliable free-taker cost us two finals. The '71 result was upsetting because if we had put the ball over the bar from placed balls like Tony McTeague did for Offaly on the day then we'd have won out comfortably. A team must carry a free-taker who can get four out of five over the bar from within fifty yards. "A harsh lesson it was for the footballing Tribesmen who certainly paid the price for missed opportunities. Despite the obvious disappointments, T.J Gilmore's career furnished him with many golden memories, memories to be treasured forever. The Galway centre half was honoured with All-Star awards in 1972 and '73 appearing on All-Star teams in the esteemed company of the likes of Sean O'Neill, Kevin Kilmurray, Brain McEniff, Mick O'Connell and Jimmy Barry Murphy to name but a few. "Centre back was certainly the position I had the greatest love for and to win two All-Stars there gave me great personal satisfaction. Such awards are nice bonuses as was the National league medal, but everything is only secondary to All-Ireland Championships", he notes ruefully. T.J. also appeared in four Railway Cup finals, losing all four, and could have been forgiven at times for questioning the gods and wondering whether he was jinxed. "Naturally that thought does cross your mind at times", he admits. One will always remember the great Micheal O'Hehir referring to the Galway centre half back in the high scoring All-Ireland of 1973 versus Cork. Micheal's words went like this: Tommy Joe Gilmore has it on his own half back line, he goes past Dinny Long, 60 yards out from the Cork goals, fifty yards out, 40, 30, on the 21 yard line and it's over the bar". As the most memorable game he ever played in T.J. picks out the 3-11 to 2-7 victory over Down in the 1971 All-Ireland semi final. "That was a great Down team and a day which stood out for me. From a personal point of view I was pleased with my performance in the final but you have to look at the ones you win", states Tommy Joe who rates tigerish Kevin Kilmurray and selfless forager Tony Hanahoe as two of the best he ever came up against. Arriving on the intercounty scene just after the three-in-a-row had been completed, the Cortoon man could probably have timed things a little bit better. "When I arrived on the county team the likes of Seamus Leydon, Jim Duggan and Liam Sammon were still there and it was a time during which Galway football was very strong. We were expecting to win more All-Irelands but unfortunately missed out". Living in Galway city at present T.J. has little active involvement with the national code but had a stint helping out Willie Joyce, Jimmy Duggan, Tomas Heavy and Peter Lee as a selector on the county team between 1986 and '88. He is confident now that the current county panel has great potential. "They seem to be showing signs of coming back", he tells Hogan Stand. "You couldn't really judge them on their performance against London but they are gradually getting there and Bosco McDermott is putting in an awful lot of work", On Sunday the Tribesmen travel to Carrick-on-Shannon for a very difficult assignment. Last year Leitrim edged it by a point and this time around could prove ever bit as close. "We certainly won't get it easy down there but I think we'll shade it. They beat us in Tuam last year and the lads will be really fired up. Leitrim will be on a high after beating Roscommon but I feel that we are more than capable of beating them and going on to contest the Connacht final. Bosco seems to be getting his house in order. He takes no nonsense and is a tough taskmaster - but there's only so much a manager can do. At the end of the day, it's down to the players. A lot will depend on how we cope at midfield. If we get a 50/50 break there then we should come away with the win", offers the Cortoon man who excelled in the No.6 jersey of Galway throughout the seventies. Tommy Joe Gilmore didn't win an All-Ireland medal - but he deserved one. Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine 1st July '94 Tweet

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