The only known photo of Timothy Joseph (TJ) O'Mahony, aka, The Rosscarbery Steam Engine
At the April meeting of Cork Athletics monthly Board meeting,
Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC was approved as a member club. As
per procedure, the club's membership must be formally ratified at the
next Cork Athletics Annual Convention. The Board and member clubs
present at the meeting were delighted to welcome teh new club, who were
represented at the meeting.
The Rosscarbery Steam Engine
The club derives its name from Timothy Jerome (TJ) O'Mahony, an athlete
of world renown who was born and lived in Rosscarbery, before moving to
Dublin.
From Ralph Riegel's Irish Independent Article: "He
is an example to our young people that Irish athletes from even the smallest
towns and villages can take on and beat the world's best," Mr O
Muircheartaigh said.
TJ
O'Mahony ranked as the GAA's Irish champion in the quarter-mile (400 metres)
for three years (1885, 1887 and 1888) and as the Irish Amateur Athletic
Association's (IAAA) national champion in 1886. The son
of a Rosscarbery shopkeeper, he was one of the leading lights in west Cork GAA
and was the first secretary of the Carbery Rangers club. When the
fledgling GAA organised a promotional and fundraising tour of the US in 1888,
Mr O'Mahony became the star of the show -- defeating all the American champions
he faced. Because
US athletes of the period were considered the finest on the planet -- even
without Olympic or World Championship competition -- he returned home as the
uncrowned world champion. His
exploits at a gala meet in New York's Madison Square Garden made all the US
newspapers -- with one American paper describing him as the 'Steam Engine' for
the manner in which he defeated all US middle-distance champions.
Career Mr
O'Mahony arrived back in Ireland as a hero but his athletics career only lasted
a few short years. After
retiring from the sports world, he took up journalism and set up home in
Dublin. He worked as a sports reporter for more than 20 years before he died in
Smithfield in Dublin in 1914 from heart failure when he was just 50. His
legacy was slowly forgotten over time but in recent years efforts have been
made to remind people of his remarkable achievements."
In 2012, a headstone was finally erected over his grave, in Glasnevin Cemetary, Dublin.
Articles about on TJ O'Mahony, "The Rosscarbery Steam Engine
The club meets on Wed evenings, at 8pm, at Warren Beach Carpark, and Sat mornings, at 7.45am for Advanced Runners, and 9am for Beginners / Intermediate, at layby just before Celtic Ross Hotel.
email Rosscarbery Steam Engine AC, or contact via the club's Facebook page