Remembering Mullingar's Street Leagues of the 1960s

Those who attended school in Mullingar in the mid to late 1960s still recall the ‘street leagues’ – and the fabulous picture above depicts a team that played under the Millmount/Ballinderry banner, reveals Enda Layng, who sent us on the picture for publication.

“The picture was taken at the CBS primary school,” recalls Enda, who features in the photo himself. 
“Teams were set up representing the different areas of town, and we were all from around the Millmount or Ballinderry areas.”
The teacher was John Reilly.
Although there were several good players on the team, unfortunately, they didn’t fare well, so there were no medals for them – although there was the excitement of attending the medal presentation ceremony at the County Hall, where the then-general secretary of the GAA, Seán Ó Siocháin, presided.
Enda, who now lives in Ballinasloe, is a son of the late well-known veterinary surgeon John Layng and his wife Dympna, and he keeps in touch with happenings in his home town by following The Westmeath Examiner online.
Enda is fairly sure of most of the team’s names – but there are a couple of gaps that others may be able to fill.

 

CAPTION At back from left: Noel Singleton, Ken Mulligan, Enda Layng, ? regan, Niall Weir, Patrick Donoghue, Donal Brennan, Owen Fenton?, Ciaran McCarthy.  In front from left, Tom McDermott, Patrick Gleason?, John Byrne, Feargal Flanagan, Jim Fagan, Martin Nally, John Wallace, Nicholas Nally, Joe Kelly, ?. Teacher: John Reilly.