Joe McDonagh 'Hurler of the Year' has strong Offaly links
When Westmeath GAA hurling star, Tommy Doyle, was named last week as GPA/GAA Joe McDonagh Hurler of the Year, his many relations in Offaly were quick to celebrate his prowess on the pitch.
The son of an Offaly-born mother, Teresa Doyle (nee Kelly) and a Westmeath father, Tommy ‘Jogger’ Doyle from Collinstown, the Lough Lene Gaels player has been a key figure in the Westmeath defence for a number of years.
He showed himself to be a real leader for Westmeath this summer when they finally clinched the Joe McDonagh Cup in a thrilling final against Kerry which was played in sweltering conditions in Croke Park. That win propelled Westmeath back into the top flight of hurling competition.
While Tommy Doyle has been a key figure in the Westmeath defence for a number of years, his Offaly cousins have also been making their mark in hurling with their respective club teams and also at county level.
His mother, Teresa, who is an artist and the founder of the Teresa Doyle Bespoke Dolls and Crafts company, comes from a family of eight and was born in Kilcavan, on the Laois/Offaly border. Three of her siblings have sons who have either played hurling at club or county level, or both, for Offaly.
The three are Geraldine, Dolores and Seanchail, while a fourth member of the family, Bernie McCabe, who lives in Ballymore in Westmeath, has a son, Owen, who is now part of the Westmeath senior hurling panel.
Seanchail has two sons, Cormac and Senni, who play hurling for Tullamore, while Dolores’ son, Ger Crowe, also hurls with the same club. A third sister, Geraldine, has two sons, Padraic and Clint Horan, playing with Clodiagh Gaels in Killeigh. Clint also played football with Tullamore.
Their second cousins, Liam and Conor Langton, whose grandfathers, the late Billy and Brendan Kelly, were brothers, and played hurling with Killeigh many years ago, are also accomplished hurlers with Clodiagh Gaels.
As well as having hurling blood in his veins from the Offaly side of his family, Tommy Doyle’s dad, Tommy Snr, known as ‘Jogger’, also gave sterling service to Westmeath senior hurlers over many years and was a magnificent full-back.
With so much hurling blood coursing through their veins, it is no surprise that one of the next generation of the Doyle/Kelly clan would, soonor or later, come to national prominence on the hurling pitch.
Tommy’s younger brother, Brendan, who is a secondary school teacher in Kilbeggan, is a former member of the Westmeath senior hurling panel, while 22-year-old Mary, who is in her final year of an Arts Degree in UL, plays camogie with Lough Lene Gaels.
GAA President, Larry McCarthy, congratulated Tommy Doyle on his Hurler of the Year Award, saying he had given “sterling service” to Westmeath and his club, Lough Lene Gaels, for many years.