Friday July 8th is a red letter day in our old and revered Club as one of our greatest players ever reached the 70 year milestone.
Ger Hanley is one of our most successful and most decorated dual players of all time. His name is surely etched in gold in our Hall of fame. He proudly won five All Ireland Medals when he starred with North Mon, Cork Minors and Cork Intermediates. He is one of those unique players to have won Minor Hurling and Minor Football All Ireland medals in the same year. He captained his Alma Mater North Mon to win Harty Cup and All Ireland Colleagues titles.
His glittering career started in a hilly field in Kilpatrick in Tracton one Summer evening when he lined out as a nine year old in 1962 to compete against Carrigaline in the South-East Under 14 Hurling championship. He scored his first goal for Shamrocks that evening and helped them to reach the final which they won, their first ever. He went on to win five consecutive South-East medals and two County titles. He later captained the North Mon Primary School to win the County School’s Shield ‘A’ Title.
He played Senior Hurling and Senior Football with Carrigdhoun. When he made his debut with the Cork Minor Hurling team in the Munster Championship against Clare, he scored four goals. The newspapers were full of the story about the rising young star from Shamrocks. In a Harty Cup Munster Colleges game he scored 6 goals and 5 points in one game, perhaps a record which still stands.
The man who trained and coached him as a youngster playing at Under 14 level is Ger Coveney, now a Senior Vice-President of our Club and still going well and will join in extending best wishes to our birthday boy.
The Club will always remember those golden days of yore when spectators and colleagues marvelled at the feats and achievements of our Golden Shamrock Boy.
Thanks for everything Ger and especially the great memories when the team in Green with the white sash surfed the waves. We will remember your mother and father too, Ted and Esther all taken from us long before their time.
Seán O’Tuama.
