I played with Christy Ring - he was simply the greatest ever, says Cork Canon, 96

IT is becoming rarer to find people who can say they saw the great Christy Ring play - given he retired in 1967, the youngest of that cohort are now approaching pension age

But Canon Colman O’Donovan can go one better than that: He actually played alongside him.

It was on July 27, 1952, and he turned out at left corner forward alongside Ring in the All-Ireland semi-final when Cork beat Galway 1-5 to 0-6 at Limerick.

‘Colie’, as he was known, of Midleton, had won an All-Ireland junior hurling medal a few years before, and had been drafted in to replace Paddy Healy from Ballincollig.

The Examiner described ‘Colie’ as “an astute player whose craft and clever use of openings should give the Cork attack more goalscoring power”.

Although he lost his place for the final, when Ring won his sixth All-Ireland medal against Dublin, Fr Colman, who is 96, remains in awe of the Glen legend to this day.

“Without doubt, he was the best player I ever played with,” he said. “I remember Ring treated each training session as if it was a championship game and his intensity and determination to be the best were an example to all his teammates. Ring was exceptional. The greatest ever.

“He would be as focused and committed training up in the Athletic Grounds as he would playing a Munster Final. He was tremendous.”

Fr Colman was a fine player too, and tore up the hurling fields before he went on to pastures new and became a priest.

“The one thing that bothered me about becoming a priest was the hurling,” he tells me at his home on Youghal Road, Midleton.

“I was obsessed with it. I was blessed that God gave me the ability to hurl. I had a small build but could play better than many of the bigger fellows on the field.”

He says he has only one regret.

“I wish Cork was doing better in the hurling!” he admits.

Where did he hone his skills?

“I learned on the roadway outside the house here, where I played hurling with other local boys. There was very little traffic on the roads in the 1930s; play was largely uninterrupted, except when a member of An Garda Siochána came into view and everyone scattered! I played in the back garden; the hurley was rarely out of my hand.

“We often played local games in the ‘Fair Fields’ in front of the hospital, organised by the boys from different roads in Midleton,” said Fr Colie.

He has good recall of the teams of his youth: ‘The Forkums’, Main Street, Cork Road, Bailick/Ballinacurra and the Youghal Road/St Mary’s Road.

He headed up to St Colman’s College in Fermoy to study.

“I definitely had my eye on hurling with that decision. It was an all-boys college, so I probably figured there’d be good chances to play!”

‘Colie’ was right. He went on to win an All-Ireland Junior Hurling medal and his Celtic Cross occupies pride of place in his house. “That team included Midleton players Gerard Power, Sean Fleming, Denis Kearney, Paddy Hartnett, and Dan Fenton from Carrigtohill,” he said.

Jim Cronin, in his book A Rebel Hundred, described it as “probably the most talented junior team ever to represent Cork”. ‘Colie’, along with Vincie Twomey and Mick Cashman, went on to win Senior All-Irelands, while the Cork captain in 1950, Willie O’Neill, went on to win a football All-Ireland with Galway, playing against his native county.

In 1951, ‘Colie’ was corner forward for Imokilly in the county senior hurling championship and was called into the Cork senior hurling panel. He was also picked for the Midleton team that lost to Shanballymore in the Intermediate hurling County final.

But by then, he was following a different calling

“I didn’t feature in the final as myself and Denis Kearney were back in Maynooth seminary,” said Fr Colman.

After his ordination in 1953, Fr Colman was posted to Eastbourne in East Sussex, England, to assist Catholic priests there.

In January, 1954, on returning by boat to England after the Christmas holidays, he met his former Cork team-mate Paddy ‘Hitler’ Healy, who was also returning to work in England.

“Healy persuaded me to play hurling with his team, St Mary’s in New Eltham, London,” said Fr Colman. “I recall on one occasion the full forward line on the team read: Paddy Healy, Liam Dowling (of Castlemartyr), and myself; all Cork hurlers!”

Who was the best player he played against?

“No one player in particular, my preference was to play against players that were bigger than me. I could use my speed and skill to counteract their physical size. I didn’t like playing against opponents of my own size!”

Fr Colman retired as a priest 20 years ago, and this year celebrated the 70th anniversary of his ordination. He was presented with a hurley of the type used by Ring and signed by the 2023 Cork Senior Hurling team, by John Fenton. Midleton CBS Past Pupils Union also honoured him.

However he is still active in a spiritual sense.

“I’ve been blessed with good health, and I’ve had the chance to help the Midleton parish a lot, like ‘subbing in’ whenever someone goes on holiday,” he said.

“A priest in the parlour, a pump in the yard and a bull in the field - wasn’t that the ideal situation for people in Ireland long ago!

“I say Mass every day for the local convent and was helping with an adult class on the Catechism of the Catholic Church up until recently. I really enjoyed the classes, they were great. I was able to help people understand the plan of God, and it also helped to keep my mind active - which was a big plus.”

Has Fr Colman, with a lifetime of remarkable commitment to God and Gaelic Games, any tips on staying so healthy?

“I don’t have any secrets to living a long life, but I was listening to an interview on the radio recently. A woman said the key to longevity was a ‘good bowl of porridge in the morning and a good glass of whisky at night’. That’s me!”