| Frankie Walsh: A stalwart of Waterford’s
glorious ’50s  By
Henry Wymbs
Frankie Walsh was another boyhood hero of mine. He was also the man responsible
for many a clip around the ear from my mother.
When Waterford beat Kilkenny to win the All-Ireland hurling final in 1959
my mother bought me a hurley and I knew in my heart she immediately regretted
this purchase.
Our farmhouse in the middle of the countryside had a large frontage with
millions of pebbles scattered all over it and every minute of the day
I would emulate Frankie Walsh with hurley in hand striking every pebble
over the large trees into the nearby field. Come the spring the blossoming
heads of daffodils and my mother’s prize tulips would be sent soaring
into the air with some beautiful strikes from my beloved hurl.
Then without warning the hurley disappeared never to be seen again. Even
to her dying day my mum swore she had nothing to do with its removal!
Frankie Walsh was captain of Waterford when they won the All-Ireland hurling
final in 1959. From 1957 to 1963 this band of hurling comrades illuminated
the Decies scene carving a nationwide reputation for their skill, sportsmanship
and teamwork.
Walsh says: “During this period of time, we played in four All-Ireland
senior hurling finals and to be honest should have won the 1957 final
against Kilkenny. The team was hurling with great fluency and with about
10 minutes to go we were six points up and yet when the final whistle
went we had lost by a single point. I would put it down to inexperience
more than anything else.”
Born in the city of Waterford in 1936, Walsh was hugely influenced by
the great John Keane and others from the 1949 winning team.
Walsh says: “John Keane was a relative of mine and I remember going
to his house where he showed me his All-Ireland medal. I was about 15
at the time and decided then that I would do my best to get on the Waterford
team. Mount Sion was my club team and I suppose were the top team in Waterford
when I was growing up.”
In Munster hurling the big two have always been Cork and Tipperary. Between
1940 and 1989 they won 40 of the 50 provincial finals and with such dominance
created an imbalance making the weaker counties work that much harder
on their game. Frankie Walsh was certainly aware of this fact when he
first made the Waterford senior team.
He said: “The 40s were dominated by Cork and the early ’50s
by Tipperary. Waterford made the breakthrough in ’49 with great
players like Andy Fleming, Christy Moylan and John Keane. This team’s
players were getting on in years and fresh blood was needed.
“I made my debut in a tournament game against Kilkenny in the mid-50s.
I got badly injured in a championship game against Cork in 1956 when I
suffered a fractured skull. I spent over a month in hospital and the doctors
advised me not to play again. Hurling in Waterford was at a low ebb at
this time.”
Thankfully Frankie made a full recovery and 1957 was the start of a great
era in Waterford hurling. A group of outstanding players emerged from
the county and under the guidance of greats John Keane and Pat Fanning
the team took shape.
Walsh recalls: “We had some good players coming through and we believed
the team was capable of reaching an All-Ireland final. We developed a
great understanding with each other and it helped having six Mount Sion
clubmates on the county team.
“We managed to come out of Munster and faced old rivals Kilkenny
in the final. Our vulnerability cost us the match. It was heartbreaking
to lose.”
Waterford came unstuck in 1958 when they lost the Munster title to eventual
All-Ireland winners Tipperary but they regained a steely determination
to succeed the following year.
Walsh said: “The team had failed up to now, and we decided to give
it our best shot in 1959. I was chosen as team captain and we overcame
the Leesiders in the Munster final and once again faced Kilkenny in the
final. At the end of the game we shared the spoils and in the replay we
ran out easy winners. It was a huge honour to lift the McCarthy Cup. I
scored eight points on the day and won the Sports-Star-of-the-Week in
the national press.”
Waterford reached the 1963 All-Ireland final only to face defeat once
more by near neighbour Kilkenny. Frankie Walsh is the holder of a record
13 senior hurling county medals with his club Mount Sion and besides his
All-Ireland success in ’59 he went on to captain Munster in the
Railway Cup of 1960 eventually winning five Railway Cup medals.
Reminiscing on his honour-filled playing days Frankie says: “I had
a great career and played inter-county for over 15 years. I met the greatest
people in the world and made many lasting friendships.
“One of the saddest days of my life was in May 1989 when my brother-in-law,
the great Waterford hurler Phil Grimes died at the age of 60 years. Three
others from that team have also gone to their eternal rest; Mick Lacy,
Donal Whelan and only recently John Kiely.”
Frankie Walsh retired some years ago having spent his working life as
a welder. He is the proud father of five boys all of whom played hurling.
He now cares for his wife Eileen who suffers from ill health and meets
up with old colleagues now and again mainly at funerals.
He says: “My son Peter captained Mount Sion to win the county championship
some years back. It brought back many fond memories as I did the same
myself back in the 50s.”
My home county, Sligo, was never a hurling hotbed and as a consequence
I never attained any great skill at the game and now as my 60s creep up
it is highly unlikely that I ever will but Frankie Walsh did offer me
some advice.
He said: “You have to start very young. The first thing you do with
a hurley is learn to protect yourself and then spend the rest of the time
learning the game.”
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