Christy Ring Plays Again!

Senior men in Conna were given a rare treat on Monday when they were invited to a showing of archive footage of the legendary Christy Ring in action. The footage showed Christy in rare form in the Munster Hurling final against Tipperary and training tips from the maestro himself on everything from free taking and trapping a fast ball to killing high balls and taking sideline cuts, all in Christy’s own voice and demonstrating the skills himself.

The viewing which was organised by Avondhu Blackwater Partnership took place in the Conna Social Centre who very generously allowed use of their wonderful facilities for the show. Mary Allen the Programme Coordinator of the Blackwater Community Connect commented “we provide several existing services for the benefit of the senior men in the Avondhu Blackwater region. Some of the men spoke to us and told us what they would like to see more of, so we are delighted we can react to that and put on these shows.  It demonstrates our flexibility when it comes to the delivery of our services.”

The performance was advertised in the preceeding weeks in the Conna area and the attendance was surprisingly large given that this was the first showing, a testament to the magnetic pull Christy Ring still exerts today, over thirty years after his premature passing away. The skills he displayed in the showing, his strength and crisp passing had the men murmuring with admiration and nodding in remembrance, some of whom were at the match that was shown.

After this the men were treated to a full screening of the 1966 All Ireland Hurling final between Cork and Kilkenny, a real old fashioned pull and drag affair, where Kilkenny led for much of the game only for Cork to eventually prevail and bag their first All Ireland in over a decade. Afterwards tea, coffee and cakes were provided by staff in the Conna Social Centre and there was an impromptu rendition of “The Bould Christy Ring” by one of the men.

Avondhu Blackwater Partnership plan to roll the scheme out across the Fermoy/Mallow/Blarney region in the coming months, for further details on upcoming screenings please contact Mary Allen on 025 33411.