*Naoise Jordan. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
REGARDED as one of the most skilful hurlers of all time, Naoise Jordan in his eighty eight years created a lasting legacy that spans far beyond the game.
On Sunday, he was laid to rest in Ballycannon Cemetery, Meelick,following his funeral mass at St Patrick’s Church in Parteen with throngs of mourners coming out to pay their respects across the weekend.
Born in Whitegate, Naoise moved to Parteen in 1977 with his adored wife Patsy where they built a home and a family that saw the arrival of their children Ruth, Tony and Raymond followed by their grand-children Rachel, Jack, Harry, Paul, Sadhbh, Josh, Paddy, Lia, Naoise and Abbie.
Regarded as one of the best corner forwards to play hurling in the 1960s, Naoise was named on the Team of the Millennium, “I was thrilled to have made it on this team and I certainly didn’t expect it. The full-forward line in the team I picked myself included Jimmy Smyth, Tull Considine and Pa Joe Quane,” he recalled at the time. He first donned the Clare jersey in 1956 when he was on the minor side defeated by Cork in Mallow, across all grades he would make 67 appearances for Clare, his last at senior level was in 1969 before appearing for the intermediates up until 1971 with the Munster final loss to Tipperary in 1967 among the most high-profile games.
When he was called up to the Clare senior panel in 1957, Naoise was working as an apprentice carpenter for McInerneys on a major development in Cork City, he was the envy of his fellow work men when the boss came to see him every week. “I was the first professional hurling player in the country. Dan McInerney used to drop by every Friday afternoon at 3pm and take me away for training. It was a great experience to be taken under his wing,” he said in a 1999 interview.
In what was the biggest GAA event to take place in England, Naoise was one of the standout Clare players that played the Monaghan Cup tournament in London on May 24th 1958 in front of an attendance of 33,240. The then All-Ireland champions Kilkenny defeated Clare 6-10 5-7 with Naoise playing a starring role alongside Mick Hayes, Jimmy Smyth, Dermot Sheedy and Johnny Purcell. The hurley used by Naoise on the day was given to his good friend who was based in London, the late Joe Collins after the game.. Joe treasured the hurley for years and then donarted it to the club with the expressed intention of returning it to its original owner, it was presented to Naoise at a special function in 2012.
He had an ability to send the Clare crowd wild with his skill and scores including when he hit 1-2 against Kilkenny in the National Hurling League, taking a pass from Michael Arthur before sending the sliotar beyond Ollie Walsh for the goal.
A former President of Clare GAA, Naoise maintained a lifelong involvement in all aspects of the GAA which included chairing the committee to erect a statue of Michael Cusack outside Cusack Park which tied in with an overall €2m refurbishment of the county grounds. In 2011, he collaborated with Ollie Byrnes and Domhnall Ó Loingsigh on the book ‘Clare Hurling Captains’ which profiled the 76 men who led Clare in senior championship hurling from 1887 to 2010.
When Whitegate won the Clare SHC in 1961, Naoise was one of the leading figures on the side captained by Jack Kenneally and trained by Caimin Lynch of Mountshannon. They defeated Newmarket-on-Fergus 5-7 3-9 in the final, ending an eleven year wait for championship glory, he scored 2-3 in round one against Feakle and hit the same tally when they defeated Crusheen in the second round. This was the highpoint of his club career.
Such is his esteem within Whitegate that in December 2012 he was entered into the Whitegate GAA Hall of Fame in a memorable event held at The Mountshannon Hotel. When Naoise turned up to what he thought was going to be a small function where he was to present medals, he got the surprise of his life when the function was solely to honour him. A special souvenir programme was produced for the occasion which included a tribute by Jimmy Smyth and reports on Naoise’s great performances. David Solon then Chairman in his address, described Naoise as “one of Whitegate’s greatest hurlers”. He stated, “For as long as I can remember, Naoise has been involved in all aspects of underage and senior hurling with our club. Naoise has embraced the new aspect of training and development in which the use of the hurling wall has become an integral part of developing skill and speed. Following an outstanding career as a hurler, Naoise has devoted his energies to the promotion and development of hurling throughout the county”.
His first senior hurling game for Whitegate was against Feakle, aged fifteen his first point was disallowed by Scariff referee Des Carroll. He struck the ball goalwards, as it was sailing over the bar, the Angelus bell rang out, the referee immediately stopped play to allow everyone say the Angelus. Seconds later, play resumed with a throw-in and there no point for Naoise. Fortunately for Whitegate supporters, there would be many memorable scores to make up for this.
As the decades passed, Naoise was regularly called upon by Whitegate or Parteen/Meelick for any medal ceremony, not just because of his legendary status but also for his ability to impart a strong message. He was also on hand in 2017 when Whitegate marked the inter-county retirement of two-time All Star Brendan Bugler, presenting him with a framed Clare jersey and a book of photographs from his Clare career. Bugler described him as “a mentor and an idol”, they often went to the hurling alleys together while Bugs was continuing to line out with Clare, “even now in his seventies, Naoise’s touch is phenomenal,” Bugler remarked in 2018.
Use of hurling alleys was heralded by Naoise for developing and improving the touch of any hurler, he spoke of how in three minutes a hurler could touch the ball over 100 times in an alleys, far more than they would in the majority of on-field sessions. In 2013, the first-ever Naoise Jordan wall ball challenge took place in Whitegate, he designed new wall ball with challenges for all age groups.
Parteen also benefitted from Naoise’s expertise and passion, He and his wife Patsy a native of Clonlara moved there in 1977 due to a lot of his work being based in the Limerick area. He brought his craft to Parteen which led to the club winning the Junior B League and Championship in his first year, marking their first success in twenty eight years. In 1979, Parteen lost the Junior A final to Wolfe Tones, it was the only adult medal in Clare he did not win. Gerry Slevin, writing in The Clare Champion following the game, “It seems to me that you either have it or you haven’t and men like Naoise Jordan whose service to Clare hurling over the years has never been less than fullblooded and wholehearted still have that special ‘something’ that leaves them streets ahead of the rest”. He even lined out for the club at the age of sixty four when lining out in goals for a Junior B game.
In 1989, he alongside Michael Doyle and Brian Madden were in charge of the Parteen side that won the Clare IHC while in 1999 he coached the Parteen minors to championship glory. He was a selector in 1996 to the Clare Masters that reached the All-Ireland final, as they prepared for the decider, he stood in the middle of Cusack Park encouring players to give more and to “whip on it and drive it quickly”.
Generations of young hurlers were inspired by Naoise including those that played under him. He was a selector of the East Clare U16 hurling team which played Waterford in 1988 to mark the official opening of the Mackey Stand in the Gaelic Grounds. Future Irish rugby greats Anthony Foley and Keith Wood were under his watch that day, along with Paul Horan, older brother of Marcus and Pat Minogue of Scariff and current Clare minor hurling selector Kevin Sammon.
In a tribute, Whitegate GAA remembered Naoise as “one of our greatest sons”. It added, “To the wider GAA world, Naoise was a legendary Clare hurler and a respected former President of Clare GAA. But to everyone here in Whitegate, he was a pioneer who helped define the modern era of Whitegate hurling”.
When putting forward the case for the statue in Michael Cusack in 2016, Naoise stated, “We have statues and icons of great men and women all over Ireland to honour these people, IN Munster, Cork has that hurling genius Christy Ring, Limerick has the powerful Mick Mackey, Tipperary has the men from hell’s kitchen John Doyle, Kerry has the majestic Mick ‘Aeroplane’ O’Connell, Waterford has the bustling Tom Cheasty and Clare has the legendary Jimmy Smyth. These are reminders of those great men from all over Munster in an era before hamstrings became topical but if it wasn’t for the vision of Michael Cusack back in 1884 would any of these people have been heard of? It is worth thinking of the thousands of people who have had the privilege, pleasure and enjoyment of seeing these great players in action. That’s the entertainment the GAA gave to us and is still giving us years later, thanks to Michael Cusack. There is the old cliché, ‘what would we do without the GAA’. There is not a parish in Ireland without a GAA club, some would say that the club is the mainstay of the parish, the grassroots, if there is a tragedy or a problem in a parish, the GAA is the first to row in behind and give full support”.
Speaking in 1989, warned that with pressures on people with work and running a home that it is extremely difficult for them to give of their time freely to the GAA, opposed to paying players to play the game but says players and officials must have expenses paid if they are to be encouraged promoting the game. He also warned of too much competition for underage players, “there should be no competition for players under sixteen, just plenty of matches in which there should be no limit on the number of substitutes allowed”. He listed the overhead strike as one of the greatest skills of the game. “I enjoyed every minute of my playing career. It’s all about enjoyment and I certainly got plenty of that”.
