Tom O'Reilly (footballer)

Tom ("Big Tom") O'Reilly

A brother of J. J. O'Reilly, Tom O’Reilly is widely remembered in his own right as one of one of the giants of the glory days of Cavan football and one of the finest footballers that Cornafean has ever produced.

A stalwart with Cornafean and Cavan from the early 1930’s until the mid-‘40’s, he was widely recognised as one of the country’s greatest midfielders for much of that period, and his footballing ability, allied to his imposing physical presence, earned him the name "Big Tom".

Big Tom first played for Cornafean on the club’s junior team which progressed to the Junior Championship semi-final in 1931. Although only sixteen years old, he quickly made a big impression and was at centrefield a year later on the senior team which defeated Bailieboro in the county final. He continued to star as a midfielder for Cornafean until he retired in 1948. He won a total of nine Cavan Senior Football Championship medals and it is a measure of his greatness that he captained Cornafean in no less than seven of those occasions.

However, it was to be his contribution to the Cavan county team that earned him enduring national renown. A star for the county minors and juniors in 1932, he made his debut for the Cavan seniors a year later, and played a key role at midfield when Cavan defeated Galway in the 1933 All-Ireland Football Final. He won a second All Ireland medal two years later and played on the losing Cavan teams in the 1937, 1943 and 1945 finals. He captained the county side from 1937 to 1945 and was still on the Cavan panel when they won the famous 1947 All Ireland final in the Polo Grounds. He was also a regular on the Ulster Railway Cup teams of the 1940’s.

He served as Chairman of Cornafean GFC from 1942 to 1945 and was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1944 as an Independent TD for the Cavan constituency. In later life, he enjoyed considerable success in the business.world.

ee also

*Cavan GAATaken from Up The Reds The Cornafean achievement by George Cartwright - A history of the GAA in Cornafean

External links

* [http://www.cornafean.com/past_stars1.htm Cornafean's Past Football Stars]