75th Anniversary of The Sam Maguire

The GAA will host a celebration in Dunmanway Co Cork on Saturday, September 20th to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first presentation of the Sam Maguire Cup. All surviving winning Captains from 1928 to the present day will congregate in Dunmanway for what promises to be a memorable and nostalgic occasion.  The Captains will attend a luncheon in the Parkway Hotel and following that, will be led by the Artane Boys Band, in vintage cars to The Square, Dunmanway, where a statue to Sam Maguire was erected last year.  A presentation of replica Sam Maguire cups, crafted by Waterford Crystal, will be made by the President of the GAA, Mr Sean Kelly, to the Captains at 3.30pm. The whole event takes place during Dunmanway"s annual festival.

The Sam Maguire Cup is named in honour of the late Sam Maguire who gave outstanding service to Cumann Luthchleas Gael in Britain being the mainstay of the GAA in London for the first twenty years of its existence. Born in 1879, he was to the fore as the London County panel contested four All-Ireland finals in a row from 1900 to 1903, although the exiles were unsuccessful in all four games, losing to Dublin (twice), Tipperary and Kerry.

However, his leadership qualities and amazing determination for the success of London GAA earned him the respect of every player in London and in 1907 he was elected chairman of the London County Board. Maguire"s contribution to the London GAA scene ended in 1923 when he returned to Ireland. He passed away on the 6th of February, 1927 at the young age of 47.

The Sam Maguire Cup was first presented to the All Ireland champions in 1928 after Kildare defeated Cavan in the All Ireland final.