Castlepollard Hurling

Disbelief was the main emotion in Castlepollard when the news of Joe Fagan"s sudden death began to filter through on Thursday morning, June 4. Joe was born and reared in Mooretown, that great nursery which supplied hurlers to Castlepollard over the years. Players like Tommy Morgan, Pat Egan who won Leinster and All-Ireland Junior medals in 1936, Jack Egan and Matty Fagan (Joe"s Uncle) and in later years Bill Corrigan come to minor. Then of course there is the Devine families lived within a stone"s throw of each other. It was in this environment that Joe grew up, so it was not surprising that he was full of all that was good in the game of hurling.He was one of a number of young guns that came to the fore in the very early 1960"s winning a Minor Championship and two under-17"s playing at midfield. Some of his colleagues from that underage era that come to mind are Mickey Fagan, Eddie Thornton, Michael (Black) Kennedy, Liam Davitt etc. These boys represented the younger end of the back to back Senior Championship winning side of 1965 and 1966.Joe always accepted that it was difficult to hold a permanent place on that senior team. A natural half-back cum midfielders, he had to contend with Eddie Thornton for a place on the half-back line while at midfield there was Mickey Fagan and Keary. Here his versatility came into play. Keary struggled from tie to time with niggling injuries. No problem - Joe Fagan filled thee berth with ease. The same applied to the half-backs.In 1966 the team was upset by a variety of problems early on - injuries, retirals etc but the younger players rose to the occasion, none more so than Joe. In the first round v Raharney he partnered Mickey Fagan at midfield. He played a stormer and capped it all by scoring 1-1. When the final arrived v Pearses - star half-back Eddie Thornton had emigrated to Canada - what to do? No problem, Joe Fagan wore the number seven, again acquitting himself with distinction.A near fatal accident in 1969 effectively finished his hurling career at only 24 years old. Yet a measure of his dedication is reflected in his action of lining out at full forward in the county final of 1972 v Brigids with his seriously injured leg wrapped in a towel. Dedication like that is rare. He subsequently served as selector and mentor on two occasions.When Joe and Dorothy moved to Rathconnell and the family matured, there was no prouder man than Joe at the exploits of his boys with Clonkill. When Pollard won their historic Championship in 2003 (their centenary year) at Clonkill"s expense, he arrived in Pollard to raise a glass with his old friends. Someone said 'Joe, you could not lose today'. His reply was 'Not so, I was in the losing camp today'. Fair comment.A larger then life character with a personality to match, he has a productive and varied career, but it was in the motor business that he really made his mark. His friends in the Pollard area are legions. However least anyone might think we are writing about a Saint, let it be noted that he was normal guy with a quick temper, direct comment and would fall out quickly. However, to this writers knowledge he never held a grudge and made peace easily. He will be missed by all in Pollard Hurling Club and in the wider area.Castlepollard Hurling Club extends sincere sympathy to Dorothy, sons Fergal, Keith, Gerard and John; daughter Deirdre, grandson Brandon; brother, sister and extended family.Many thanks to Paddy McCabe snr on preparting this column.