Interview: Meet Ireland’s oldest inter-county GAA star

By Shane Breslin

It’s fair to say that the GAA in Leitrim doesn’t get much coverage, but when you do think of Leitrim GAA you probably automatically think of Leitrim football.

So when it comes to the two strands of GAA in the county, the Leitrim hurlers are an underclass to an underclass.

Every now and then in the GAA, though, something arises that springboards a previously unheralded player or club or county out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

Okay, so “spotlight” might be stretching it a bit, because there won’t be too many spotlights – or even spectactors, we suspect – at Maguiresbridge in Fermanagh on Saturday afternoon for the Lory Meagher Cup semi-final.

Even many hardened GAA supporters won’t know a whole lot about the Lory Meagher Cup, which is effectively the fourth rung on a four-rung ladder for hurling counties: Kilkenny, Tipperary and the rest of the big guns compete for the Liam McCarthy Cup, and beneath that there’s the Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard versions (defending champions Kerry and London respectively.)

The bottom tier is the Lory Meagher, currently in its fourth year, and both Leitrim and Fermanagh are bidding to win the trophy for the first time.

I look after myself a bit but I’d eat anything. There’s no slimming or diets or none of that crap with me

And if Leitrim were to go all the way there surely won’t be too many GAA folk who’d begrudge an All-Ireland medal to Tommy McLoughlin, the Leitrim goalkeeper.

Because Tommy is now 47 years of age. The GAA museum doesn’t have official records on the age of inter-county players – we know because we asked them – but there’s every chance that Leitrim’s Tommy McLoughlin might be one of the oldest in the history of the GAA.

They say you have to be a bit mad to be a hurling goalkeeper in the first place. How mad do you have to be to be a 47-year-old hurling goalkeeper?

“Ah well I don’t think about it,” Tommy told JOE today. “I keep fit. I go in there and I do a job and I don’t think about age or getting injured or nothing. I look after myself a bit but I’d eat anything. There’s no slimming or diets or none of that crap with me.”

He has played “on and off” for the Leitrim hurlers for well over 20 years, but goalkeeper is a fairly new position for him.

“I played midfield or centre back usually, but over the last two or three years the legs started to die a bit,” he laughs.

Tommy is no real stranger to winning medals – he has 13 senior hurling championships with Gortlettragh.

However, success with Leitrim has so far eluded him. Having missed out on a Connacht senior football medal in 1994 – “I was on the football panel for a few years around that time but I dropped myself off it, work commitments and things like that. Bad luck on me wasn’t it?” – he’s hoping to finally pocket an inter-county medal this year.

It would be the end of a long road, too, because Tommy was also on the last Leitrim team to reach the final of a national competition: the National League Division 4 final of... 1986.

“We played Tyrone and we lost by two points I think,” he says. “Down in Omagh I think. That’s the only final we got to, so we’re looking to get to another one this weekend.

“I just want to wish all the lads the best on Saturday. Martin Cunniffe [the Leitrim manager], trainer Brian Carroll and selector Paddy O’Connor have all done great work. We’ll be going all out for it.”

Best wishes Tommy. We’ll be watching out for the result from Maguiresbridge on Saturday evening with interest...