Ballina Stephenites to honour founder and legendary captain
A memorial plaque to legendary Ballina Stephenites footballer Andy Corcoran will be unveiled at the grave of James Wallace Melvin in Leigue Cemetery next Sunday.
Two of the giants of Ballina Stephenites GAA club, founder James Wallace Melvin, and Andy Corcoran, acknowledged as the best captain the club ever had, are to be honoured this coming Sunday, September 29 at 12.30pm in Leigue Cemetery.
Melvin, born in Black 1847 when the famine was at its deadliest, founded the club in 1886 and pledged to make it the greatest in the country. “I’m going out to start a club that will shake all Ireland,” are reported to be his exact words. By the time of his death in April 1913 (aged 66), he had done just that!
And the man who played a key role in that achievement was Lacken-born Andy Corcoran who moved with his family to Ballina and settled at the top of Convent Hill, near where St Patrick’s Church is today. Those of us who attended the Convent schools knew it as Carmel Walker's sweet shop! Born in 1880, he became an outstanding footballer and led the Stephenites to two national titles in the Croke Cup, accounting for Kerry in 1908 and Waterford in 1909.
By the time of James Wallace Melvin's death in 1913 the club had won eleven Mayo senior county championships (1889-1913) with Andy Corcoran as captain from 1906-9. Noted for his great fitness and speed, moustachioed Corcoran could play anywhere on the field. He possessed a great shot, and was respected by teammates for his shrewd leadership and fair but firm discipline. His players knew him as ‘Cooney’ and the story goes that after training one night, two players snuck into a pub in town for ‘a few refreshers’.
“Keep an eye out for the RIC!” one warned.
“Never mind the bloody RIC, shout if you see ‘Cooney’ coming! You know it’s woe betide us if we're caught drinking and us in training for the 1907 Connacht final,” the other responded nervously.
Andy, standing 5ft 6 and a half inches tall, didn’t like losing, and if injured he would play on. In 1906, when teams were 17 aside and physical contact bone-crunching, he got his collar-bone displaced and had to withdraw from the fray. But he refused to leave the grounds for medical attention, marching up and down the line and shouting encouragement though in great pain.
With the team going for its third Croke Cup in 1910, Corcoran shocked his teammates by announcing he was leaving Ireland. Accompanied by teammates shedding tears, he was bid adieu at the Windy Gap near Tubbercurry. They never saw him again! Reports of his whereabouts over the years were scarce and largely inaccurate. Some held he had fought in WW1 in the US ranks, others that he had died in a swimming accident.
In fact, he ended up in Canada as a gold miner, never married and his death and final resting place remained a mystery until a few years ago. He died on 5th May 1937, aged 57, having spent his final months in the Old Men’s Provincial Home in Kamloops, in the Canadian Rockies.
We will never know if Corcoran learned that his nephew Josie Munnelly won an All-Ireland medal with Mayo in 1936.
In writing the club history in 1986, and for many years afterwards I had tried to track him down. His grandniece Marie Ó Conghaile eventually discovered his resting place in an unmarked grave in Kamloops, and boy, was I surprised! For, about 10 years ago I walked by his final resting place in Kamloops without realising how close I was to ending my long and frustrating search. The Old Men’s Provincial Home where he died is no more, but the excellent North Mayo Family Research Centre at Enniscoe, Crossmolina, was able to unearth some crucial records. The story is told in full in my .
So on Sunday, September 29, a memorial plaque to Corcoran will be unveiled at the grave of James Wallace Melvin in Leigue Cemetery.
Bernie Finan and myself, as part of our Ballina historical remembrances' journey, and Ballina Stephenites, current Mayo senior champions, have joined forces to honour these two greats, who, amongst others, laid the foundation for the club. Also remembered are those who served in the cause of the club over its storied history. Senior team manager Nial Heffernan, club chairman John Healy and senior players have already tended to the grave in preparation for the day.
Wreaths will be laid by the club and Andy Corcoran's grandniece, Maire Ni Conghaile. All are invited to attend.
Once again the words of the club’s rallying song, , written by James Wallace Melvin and sung with gusto by Andy Corcoran and legions, will rent the air in tribute:
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