Art Foley
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Irish name | Airt Ó Foghlú | ||
Sport | Hurling | ||
Position | Goalkeeper | ||
Born |
Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland | 14 December 1928||
Died |
28 October 2019 Long Island, New York, United States | (aged 90)||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
Occupation | TWA crew chief | ||
Club(s) | |||
Years | Club | ||
St Aidan's | |||
Club titles | |||
Wexford titles | 7 | ||
Inter-county(ies) | |||
Years | County | ||
1946–1957 | Wexford | ||
Inter-county titles | |||
Leinster titles | 3 | ||
All-Irelands | 2 | ||
NHL | 1 |
Michael Arthur Foley (14 December 1928 – 28 October 2019) was an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Wexford senior team.
Born in
As a member of the
Foley retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1957 championship. He died in the United States in October 2019.[1]
Playing career
Club
Foley played his club hurling with his local St Aidan's club, with whom he won senior county titles in 1946, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1956. His team mates at the club included hurler of the year (and later "team of the century" inductee) Nick O'Donnell.
Inter-county
Beginnings
Foley first played for Wexford as a member of the minor team in 1946. After leaving the minor ranks, he was added to the Wexford senior team and made his championship debut in the quarter-finals of the 1947 Leinster Championship in a 3–12 to 2–10 victory over Laois.
Billy Rackard in his 1996 book 'No Hurling at the Dairy Door' wrote:
- "In the league final against Galway, an unfortunate event happened which had an unsettling effect on our team. Our star goalkeeper, Art Foley, appeared to lose his nerve on that occasion, and there were several attempts to find a suitable replacement, one being my brother Jim who played in the Leinster final. Ray Brennan, a Wexford native, was giving outstanding displays in goal for UCD around that time. He was brought in for the All-Ireland semi-final and final. Although Brennan was a fine goalkeeper, too much was expected of him, especially in the final. In retrospect, it was a mistake to drop Foley, a brilliant goalkeeper who later proved his worth in no uncertain fashion."
Early career
After back-to-back Leinster defeats over the next two years, Wexford faced Dublin in the 1954 decider. A 8–5 to 1–4 victory gave Foley his first Leinster medal. A record crowd of 84,856 attended the subsequent All-Ireland decider on 5 September 1954 with Cork providing the opposition. Wexford had a four-point lead with seventeen minutes left to play, however, history was against Foley's side when Johnny Clifford scored the winning goal for Cork with just four minutes left. A narrow 1–9 to 1–6 victory secured a third successive All-Ireland for Cork.
In 1955, Wexford continued their provincial dominance with Foley collecting a second Leinster medal following a 5–6 to 3–9 defeat of Kilkenny in a replay of the Leinster final. Galway, who had been given a bye to the final without playing a game, provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final on 4 September 1955. At half-time, Galway led by 2–5 to 2–3 courtesy of two goals from eighteen-year-old Paddy Egan. A goal by Tim Flood nine minutes from the end clinched a 3–13 to 2–8 victory and a first All-Ireland medal for Foley.[2] It was Wexford's first All-Ireland win in forty-five years.
All-Ireland-winning save
Foley added a
Retirement
In 1958, Foley was on a tour with the Wexford team in New York City when he decided to end his inter-county career and stay in the United States.
Inter-provincial
Foley was selected for the
Honours
Team
- St. Aidan's
- Wexford Senior Hurling Championship (7): 1946, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957
- Wexford
- 1956
- Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (3): 1954, 1955, 1956
- 1955–56
- Leinster
- Railway Cup(1): 1956
References
- ^ "Death of legendary Wexford goalkeeper Art Foley". hoganstand.com. Lynn Group Media. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "All-Ireland Win 1955". Ask About Ireland website. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Wexford's Art Foley on that save from Christy Ring in '56 Final". Irish Independent. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Foley recalls crucial save vs. Ring". Irish Echo. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ISBN 9780955088605.
- ^ "Truth about Foley's great save". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "All-Ireland Win 1956". Ask About Ireland website. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "One fine day – When Wexford went to Croker". RTÉ Radio 1 website. Retrieved 4 April 2013.