Bishopstown's sporting greats remember in new book by Pat Callanan

Bishopstown has produced many talents throughout the years across all codes of sport.

Remembering people you looked up to as a kid, or those you were lucky enough to grow up alongside and watch them achieve great things, is something all of us can relate to. Reminding others of the talented people in their neighbourhood was something Pat Callanan wanted to do. So he decided to write his second book, following his hugely popular book about his beloved football club Wilton United.

Having grown up in Bishopstown, Callanan was spoilt for choice in terms of role models. Whether it was sport or musicians, Bishopstown seemed to have them in abundance. A huge interest in history, Callanan felt he would delve deeper and write about his beautiful community and what the people meant to him.

"I was genuinely gobsmacked and overwhelmed by the reaction to my Wilton book in 2018 that it really brought home to me the importance of clubs and communities, and how reliving and talking about sporting memories is something very important to people," said Callanan.

"In my day job at that time, I was driving busloads of Americans around the length and breadth of Ireland. One of the perks of that job, besides a giant free sirloin steak and a room in Dromoland castle, was the free downtime this job could cough up from time to time.

"It was in these opportune windows of time, where I engaged in my other passion, history. I would pass my free time strolling the historical trails of the roads, streets and lanes of the cities, towns and villages of our wonderful country.

It was only when I got home after these trips, on walks around where I grew up, in my hometown of Bishopstown, that I realised there weren't any information points or historical trails to inform people of my own people's stories."

It was there and then, in early 2019, that the plan for Bishopstown Times & Tales was born. 

"I dived in and out of it over the ensuing years, but tore into it 16 months ago, and finally got it over the line with my graphic designer, Ron Rigby and printer, Mossie O’Leary earlier this month."

The first section entitled Times, is a comprehensive historical account of Bishopstown from the last great ice age right up until modern times. The second section, Tales is essentially an account of his time growing up in the parishes from 1971-1989. 

The one common thread running through all 19 chapters is my passion and love for sport. This lifelong passion all started out on Westgate Road green.

"Out there, we morphed into our sporting heroes and reproduced the venues they excelled in.

IDOLS

"The likes of Bjorn Bjorg and Chris Everett in Wimbledon, which would come to life by marking out our tennis courts with chalk on the road, and tying a clothes line to kitchen chairs which we used as our net. On my reliable, but snail like Triumph 20, I turned into Sean Kelly up in the Pyrenees.

"We tried to control and pass the ball like Kenny Dalglish and Glenn Hoddle, using our jumpers and neighbours’ gates for soccer posts. The green itself would resemble the muddy fields of Limerick, where John Treacy had become the World Cross country champion.

"In school in SASN, the greatest days were usually reserved for the second week of September, when our local GAA legends, Laburnum Lawn and Wilton Gardens duo, JBM and Johnny Crowley popped in with the Liam MacCarthy Cup."

In fact, they came in three years in a row from 76-78, which always triggered an explosion of happiness, followed by an automatic half day and homework off.

Treks up to Bishopstown GAA to play in the street leagues and eventually Bord na nÓg games were some of the happiest days of my life, as were my running adventures in CSN and Togher AC, with my late and great pal, Turner's Cross and CCR champion athlete, Anthony O’Keeffe.

"At our book launch in the Rendezvous, last Thursday night, seven of my teammates, who appeared on the front cover of the book, turned up to support me at the launch. A big shout out must go to Aidan Quilligan, Donie Hennessy, Pat Cuthbert, Davey Walsh, John O’Brien, Leo Whelan and one of Bishopstown's greatest characters, the one and only, Rónán Daly.

"It truly was a special night, and one that will linger happily in my memory banks for ever more. My book has been kindly put up for sale by the wonderfully supportive, Herlihy family, and their managers, Rebecca and Raul, in their Centra Stores in Curraheen and Oliver Plunkett Street." 

The book is €30 each or 2 for €50. A nice Christmas sock filler.