March people and places lecture

March 24th @ 7.30pm

Dr. Kevin McCarthy

Tom Kiely: Tipperary’s and Ireland’s greatest champion.

Dr Kevin McCarthy presents an illustrated talk on Tom Kiely, and presents the case for him being not only Tipperary’s greatest sports star, but Ireland’s too. Kiely’s sporting career spanned over twenty years and encompassed athletics in many forms, the GAA, and the social and political challenges of the day too. Kiely’s remarkable life story spanned over 80 years and is, in itself, a microcosm of Irish history, told through a lens focused on the Ballyneill area of south Tipperary but fanning out to places like St. Louis, New Yourk, Antwerp, Edinburgh and all over Ireland.

This is the story of the man known, simply, as “The Champion”. Kevin McCarthy is the author of Gold, Silver and Green: The Irish Olympic Journey 1896-1924,  and his biography of Tom Kilely will be published by Mercier Press in summer 2020.