Forty years after their unique success in winning the Railway Cup, the Combined Universities team of 1973 were honoured at Croke Park on Sunday last.

The team that included some of the stars of the seventies like John O'Keefe, Paudie Lynch, Pat O'Neill, Martin Carney and Paddy Moriarty, surprised many to win the title in only their second year in the competition, thus becoming the only non-provincial side to claim Railway Cup honours.

Panel members were treated to a reunion lunch hosted by Comhairle Árdoideachais (Higher Education Council) at Croke Park on Sunday and were introduced to the crowd at half time during the Allianz National Football League Division 1 final.

The three year experiment in the early seventies sought to add extra spice to the competition, and while it was figured that the selection would be competitive, there were no real expectations of ultimate success. Indeed, in their first venture in 1972, they lost out to Connacht. However, by the following year, Antrim and Queen's legend Paddy O'Hara had come on board to manage the side and they overcame Ulster and Leinster to book a St Patrick's Day clash with Connacht in the decider. The tie went to a replay, with the Universities winning by 4-9 to 0-12 in Athlone on Easter Monday (23 April).

Having exceeded expectations, the CU participation in the Interprovincial Series only lasted another year, before the competition reverted to the 4 team format. While their participation had not met with universal approval at the time, there was a general welcome for such a unique selection.

The team from the final replay was:

Noel Murphy
(UCC and Cork)

Joe Waldron Seamus Killough Jimmy Stafford
(UCD and Galway) (Queen's and Antrim) (UCD and Cavan)

Gerry McHugh Pat O'Neill Tony Regan
(Queen's and Antrim) (UCD and Dublin) (UCG and Roscommon)

John O'Keefe Kevin Kilmurray
(UCD and Kerry) (UCD and Offaly)

Brendan Lynch Dave McCarthy Martin Carney
(UCC and Kerry) (UCD and Cork) (UCG and Donegal)

Paddy Moriarty Donal Kavanagh Anthony McGurk
(Queen's and Armagh) (UCC and Kerry) (Queen's and Derry)

Subs:
Paudie Lynch (UCC and Kerry)
John Rainey (Queen's and Antrim)
Cyril Hughes (Maynooth and Carlow)
Ciarán Lewis (Queen's and Armagh)
Finn Sherry (Queen's and Fermanagh)
JP Kean (UCD and Mayo)
Mick Scannell (UCC and Cork)
Tommy O'Malley (UCG and Roscommon)
Eamonn O'Donoghue (UCD and Kildare)
John McKiernan (Queen's and Antrim)
John Tobin (UCG and Galway)
Kevin Teague (Queen's and Tyrone)
Colm Mullan RIP (Maynooth and Derry)


Comhairle Árdoideachais chairman Ray O'Brien praised the achievements of the 73 team, saying that "their victory stands as a proud success for the GAA in our sector and the name of the Combined Universities is a unique and curious feature on the Railway Cup roll of honour".

He added that "reuniting successful teams, players and managers is always a worthwhile thing for the GAA as they have a special place in our Association's history and folklore".

NOTES:

Note 1: There was a poignant note to Sunday's event. Team member Colm Mullan (then a student at St Patrick's Maynooth) from Ballerin, Co Derry was involved in an accident on the eve of the Ulster game in January 1973 and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. He died in 2004. The accident occurred while he was returning from the funeral of an old St Columb's school colleague Brendan Dolan (from Aghyaran, Co Tyrone). Brendan had been selected the for the Ulster team before a fatal accident on this way to work during the week leading to the Railway Cup game.

Note 2. While Paudie Lynch of UCC and Kerry was the captain of the 1973 Combined Universities team, injury ruled him out of the Railway Cup final replay. His brother and team colleague Brendan Lynch took on the captaincy and accepted the cup from GAA President Donal Keenan.

Note 3: The old Railway Cup made an appearance at Croke Park on Sunday. The famous trophy which was first presented in 1926 is now housed at the Ulster Council offices in Armagh.

Note 4: The management team were Paddy O'Hara (manager), Eugene McGee (UCD), Jimmy Beggs (Queen's), Seamus Condon (UCC), Pat Doherty (Trinity). Tweet

Most Read Stories