Matty Power – One of the greatest Kilkenny hurlers of all time

By Liam Burke

Matty Power who is still recognised as one of Kilkenny’s greatest ever hurlers helped in no small way to assist and hide many of the escaped prisoners from Kilkenny jail in November 1921. In all, 44 prisoners escaped, including the famous Fr Delahunty using a fifty metre tunnel that came up in St. Rioch Street where Matty Power and his family were living at the time. Matty was ably assisted in helping the escapees by Paddy O’Donoghue, another Kilkenny hurling star, who scored a last minute goal which helped Kilkenny to win the 1922 All-Ireland final against Tipperary. It was so important that the escapees had someone to help them as they emerged from the tunnel, as many who were not from Kilkenny did not know the lie of the land. The IRA branch in Dunnamaggin provided a number of ponies and traps to get the prisoners away as quickly as possible, and none were recaptured.

Closh grounds
Matty Power was born in Graiguenamanagh and the family moved to Kilkenny City when Matty was very young. He learned to play hurling in the Closh and the Fair Green, so it was only natural that he would join the local City club Dicksboro. Following his school days in the local Christian Brothers School he started to play with Dicksboro in 1919 at both junior and Senior level. He continued to play with the Dicksboro club until 1925 when he joined the newly formed Gardai in Dublin.

Suspended
In the middle of the Black and Tan war in the early twenties, Matty was working as a train guard with the Great Southern Railway Company, and after he refused to take a train load of Tans to Waterford he was suspended. He was presented with a gold watch by his co-workers in the Railway Company and his daughter Cathy is still in possession of that watch which is one of her proudest possessions.

All-Ireland medal
Matty won his first All-Ireland medal with Kilkenny in the 1922 final following a dramatic victory over old rivals Tipperary. The losers had been winning by three points with just a few minutes remaining, but unexpected goals by Dick Tobin and Paddy O’ Donohoe secured victory for Kilkenny. The goals were scored so late that many of the Tipperary supporters had left Croke Park fully convinced that they were All-Ireland champions.
As he was living in the big smoke from 1925 onwards, Matty was forced to play with a Dublin club and the County team. He did well by winning an All-Ireland with Dublin in 1927 as well as a National League in 1928-9. Then as a member of the Garda club he won five County Dublin senior medals between 1925 to 1931.

Back to Kilkenny
I suppose every savage loves his native shore, and Matty Power was no exception, so he availed of the non-resident rule and declared for Kilkenny in 1931. He played in the three All-Ireland’s of that particular year when Kilkenny with many of the top players badly injured for the second replay were defeated by Cork. Kilkenny were severely hampered by injuries for the second replay. The most significant ones were to Lory Meagher, captain and legendary midfielder, and Dick Morrissey, an influential forward (who never hurled again).
Matty also did well with Kilkenny, as he won another three All-Ireland medals in 1932, 1933 and 1935. He might have retired then as he was 36, but he stayed on for the finals of 1936 and 1937 when Kilkenny, who were past their best during those years were defeated. The great Lory Meagher who was the same age as Matty also retired following that heavy defeat by Tipperary in Killarney as well.
“Always fit, always fast, Matty Power, from his toes to his fingertips, was the sweetest and neatest of hurlers,” wrote Padraig Purcell, the respected GAA scribe. “An artist of the stick and a craftsman of the camán his wristwork was a delight to watch. The cleverest ball player of his day, he relied entirely on craft, skill, and elusiveness to carry him past even the most powerful defenders and rarely in his prime left the field without making an impressive imprint on the scoreboard.”
In 54 championship games between 1920 and 1937, 41 with Kilkenny and 13 with Dublin Matty Power scored an astonishing 53 goals and 138 points. In 31 NHL games he scored another 25 goals and 20 points. Thus in 85 flagship appearances he scored a goal on 78 occasions during a time when scores were ‘hard got’.

Married
Matty married Nancy Walsh of Bonnettsrath just outside the City, and they owned and ran a Boarding house in Gardiner Place in Dublin for many years. It was the favourite haunt for many a Kilkenny supporter particularly on the day of a match when Kilkenny were playing in nearby Croke Park.

Donnelly’s of Walkin Street
Matty Powers’ mother was Statia Donnelly, whose father was Patrick and he originated in Tullabrin in Johnswell. She was one of 13 sisters, and no less than five of those sisters’ fathered sons who won All-Ireland medals with Kilkenny. Nelly was the mother of Podge and Eddie Byrne, while Agnes’ son was Bobby Brannigan. Nan’s son, Marty Grace won a Minor All-Ireland with Kilkenny in 1936, and Bridget’s son Paddy Cashin won another Minor All-Ireland in 1931.

One of the greats
The great Martin White who lived to be 102 and who played hurling on the same Kilkenny team as Matty during the thirties said a number of years ago that “Matty Power was one of the greatest hurlers of all time.” He added that he “saw Power beat Faughs almost on his own with the Garda club. He had wonderful skill, and he was very strong on both sides, and he always played very well with Kilkenny.”
Matty Power who was born on October 18th 1899 and passed away much too young on October 7th 1965 following a long illness. May he rest in peace.

MATTY POWER HONOURS, KILKENNY AND DUBLIN

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (5) 1922, 1927, 1932, 1933, 1935.
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (12) 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931. 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937.
National Hurling League (2) 1929, 1933.
Railway Cup (4) 1927, 1932, 1933, 1936
Matty won seven county Championship medals, six with the Garda Club in Dublin, and one with Dicksboro in 1923.