Offaly manager's 1969 letter to players included in new book

In an era before WhatsApp groups, voice notes and video calls, a letter sent by Offaly football manager Fr Tom Scully to his county players in 1969, provides a fascinating insight into the motivational tools of the day as he attempted to get the best out of his team and make the big breakthrough.

The typed letter to Mick O'Rourke, Offaly's corner back for the county footballers from 1968 to 1976, has been included in 'The History of GAA in 100 objects' by Siobhán Doyle, a new book offering a unique perspective of the association down through the years, as well as acting as a social history of the time and the people involved.

During his second season, Mick O'Rourke, who passed away in 2019, and his teammates received this letter from the then manager, Fr Tom Scully, after their drawn game against Kildare in the National Football League.

The letter starts with a response to criticism saying that they were “written off as a useless team” and now our supporters “are telling us what great fellows we are” but he cautions that a drawn game is not a win.

Urging the group to prove their worth with a victory before moving onto a bid for League and All Ireland honours, Fr Tom, who was based in Belcamp College in Dublin, believes “success is within our grasp” and it is up to each player “to prepare himself to give his very best”.

Throughout the letter he asks the players direct and difficult questions about their desire to be on the team, their desire to put in the work and if not, “be man enough to resign” from the panel.

“I want wholehearted dedicated lads who will do themselves, the team and the county proud. There is no place for the shirker on our team,” he stresses in the letter also gives revealing suggestions for training, diet and lifestyle. For instance, he recommends eating a raw egg and a glass of milk every day and “cutting out rubbishy sweets etc”.

The book details that Fr Scully took over as Offaly manager during a time of great optimism and expectation for the county, and while 1969 would be his only season as manager, his tenure cultivated a close relationship with many of the players.

Throughout the 1960s, Fr Scully trained teams at colleges, junior and minor level, and during his time based at Belcamp College in Dublin, he held famously tough training sessions for any Offaly players living in the city.

Fr Tom, who died in 2020, was noted for his charisma, energy and positivity, which is evident in his words – they capture a sense of urgency and belief – “united and determined we must win”.

The letter is dated March 31, 1969 (the day after the match took place) and brings us into that hallowed dressing room of team and management where the emotions, perceptions and hope are laid bare for all to see.

In the end his words in the letter proved highly effective, the publication tells us, as Offaly overcame Kildare in the replay on a scoreline of 1–2 to 0–8. The team would go on to the National League Final and All-Ireland Final that year, losing both games to Kerry.

Ultimately, Fr Tom Scully’s belief in his players was justified when, just two years later, Offaly took All-Ireland honours for the first time beating Galway, retaining the title the following year, this time beating Kerry after a replay.

The Offaly letter is just one of 100 GAA-related objects explored in the new book from every single county and overseas, with everything from a fifteenth-century horsehair sliotar to a tweed camogie dress, Trevor Giles’s sleeveless jersey and Brian Cody’s baseball cap profiled and given important context within the game and era.