Grounds donated to the people of Athenry as a Town Park

The 'Back Lawn' Kenny Park lies within Athenry's original town walls, constructed in the 1300s by the de Burgh family. They remain among the best preserved medieval walls in Ireland. The land on the South Moat side of the town was the site of a  hospital which included a leper compound in the 14th and 15th centuries. When the hospital ceased operation the area was left to the people of Athenry as a town park, and became known locally as the Back Lawn.
 
Athenry GAA Club, founded in the spring of 1885, played their games there, and it was a popular venue for club and county games because of the town's central location. At the turn of the 20th century the lease on the Back Lawn was held by a Mrs. Barrett, subject to GAA games being played there and the holding of the annual Horse and Agricultural Show. After the Land Commission purchased the land from the estate of Lady Edith Drummond, townspeople felt that the Back Lawn should continue as a town park, and it was vested in five men to hold in trust for the town.

In 1912 the trustees gave the GAA the right to use the field on Sundays and Church holidays for sports and pastimes, and indeed for some 20 years many Galway County Finals were also played there. New trustees were appointed in the ‘30s, including James Ruane, Stephen Jordan, Michael Walsh, James Barrett, Michael Kilkelly and John Cleary.

Tom Kenny Memorial Park established

A number of leading Gaels in the County decided 1947 to establish a memorial to the memory of the late Tom Kenny. It was agreed that the memorial would be a stadium and the organising Committee requested the County Board to inspect venues in the County and recommend three as suitable. The Board selected Loughrea, Craughwell and Athenry. The Committee then met and unanimously agreed on Athenry as the site for the stadium. The 'Back Lawn' as it was known was sold to the Kenny Memorial Committee by the trustees for £500 in 1952. It was an ideal site for a G.A.A. stadium, situated beside one of the few ancient town walls that existed in Ireland or the Continent. The walls were built according to some historians from the spoils of the Battle of Athenry in 1316, while others claim King John built them in 1211.

Apart from the suitability of the field for the stadium, the town itself was an ideal centre with one of the most important railway junctions in the West of Ireland. It also had the ability to cater for large gatherings, and except on a few occasions for almost twenty years from 1902 all County Finals were played there. The Back Lawn was 'purchased' in trust as a public park for the people of the town. The trustees in an agreement with the G.A.A. in 1912 gave the Association the right to use the field on all Sundays and Church Holidays for sports and pastimes. This agreement was reached after a dispute arose when a tenant demanded a fee of £5 for the use of the venue for sports.

By 1932 all the trustees had died except one who was paying rates on the field for years, he had no option but to put it up for sale. The new owners had no agreement with the G.A.A. and attempted to stop games being played there. A meeting of Athenry G.A.A. Club was held on the 17th. October 1932 to discuss the Club's position and attitude towards the sale of the field. The meeting passed the following resolution 'That we, the Gaels of Athenry protest against the sale of the Back Lawn to any individual for the reason that it was purchased by a number of trustees as a public park for the use of the people of the town and the said trustees by agreement with the G.A.A. subjected the yearly tenancy to the condition that the G.A.A. have the right to use the Back Lawn for sports and pastimes on all Sundays and Church Holidays of the year.' The meeting appointed a Committee of J. J. Ruane (Chairman); Stephen Jordan (Secretary); Jim Barrett, Michael Walsh, Michael Kilkelly and John Cleary to oppose the sale. Acting on their behalf O'Dea's Solicitors of Eyre Square, Galway at the third attempt in the High Court succeeded in stopping the 'sale'. One of the conditions was that the trustee is paid all the rates he had paid over the years and they pay their own expenses and Court costs. As they had no funds, the solicitor, a brother of County Chairman Canon James O'Dea, paid all the High Courts costs. The Committee immediately began a fund raising campaign to raise the necessary funds but, because money was scarce, it took a number of years to pay the solicitor and rates.

In 1945 a Field Development Committee was started after the local Club made representations to the trustees. In a letter written by the Secretary, Frank Kilkelly the Club also asked them to meet a deputation to get some understanding regarding the Clubs use of the pitch. The new Committee included the trustees, representatives of Athenry, Newcastle, Cussane and Derrydonnell Clubs, the Agricultural Show Society and six co-opted members. Two years later the Kenny Memorial Committee was set up and among the events they organised was the Kenny Cup Senior Hurling Tournament. This competition became one of the most prestigious to win in the County. There were many exciting games and the first winners were Loughrea who defeated Ballinasloe 3-4 to 2-3 in May 1950 at Ballinasloe. J. J. Ruane presented the cup to Loughrea Captain Vincent McNamee and M. T. Monaghan, also a Loughrea man presented a set of medals on behalf of the 'Gaels of London'.

In October 1953 the Committee considered tenders for the development of the pitch and decided on the lowest received which was from Sheehy Brothers, limerick for £1,200. A special finance Committee was set up within the Parish to raise funds with fifty-six people attending a meeting called by that Committee. With liabilities amounting to £1,800 an application was made for a further loan of £1,000 to the bank to complete the work. The application was refused and the development had to be postponed until the following year. In February a house-to-house collection was made throughout the Parish and work resumed.

Kenny Park Grounds opened

On July 3rd 1953 the park was officially opened by the Chairman of the Connacht Council Mr. Don O'Rourke (Roscommon) and blessed by Fr. Delaney C.C. Speaking on the occasion the Connacht Chairman said the youth of the Parish should be proud of the stadium and thanked the people of Athenry for subscribing towards the development and the organising Committee which had worked so hard. There was a glamorous opening ceremony and among those present were surviving members of the 1923 All-Ireland winning team. Tom Flannery and Dick Morrissey and also Athenry De-Wetts Charlie Whyte, Mike Duffy, Patrick Kennedy and Stephen Jordan.

In 1958 the grounds were vested in the Association as a County ground in order to obtain as many grants as possible and to continue development work. The 'Kenny Committee' insisted that a clause be written into the deeds that the park should always be called Kenny Memorial Park. Old divisions and personality clashes between members of the Board and Committee may be the reason why development work ceased. At that time £10,000 a considerable amount of money had been raised and spent on the project by the committee. It was the view of many people that the grounds should not have been handed over to the County Board; the decision to do so at the time was taken in what the Committee believed to be in the best interest of the park and G.A.A.

   Tom Kenny

Born in Craughwell on 5th November 1877, Tom Kenny left school at 14 years of age and went to work as a blacksmith with his father. He was by all accounts a controversial figure, his father Matthew died in 1903, while his mother Bridget (nee Sylver) lived until December 1929. Tom’s early years would have been saturated in the political atmosphere of the time.

From 1870 onwards, Land and Home Rule were the national passion. Between 1874 and 1881 some ten thousand people were evicted from their homesteads. The Irish Republican Brotherhood, formed in 1858, influenced many, as thousands of emigrants who fought in the American Civil War pledged to return and fight for Ireland. 

Early in the history of the G.A.A., the I.R.B. were infiltrating the Association and using its ranks to further their own ends. Police attended GAA games in large numbers to take note of those playing who were members of the National League. Political splits were apparent in many areas. National Leaguers and hurlers were asked to settle their differences and play the game for the common good. The involvement of the G.A.A. in political affairs since its foundation, nearly caused its demise in the 1890’s.

This then is briefly the atmosphere that Tom Kenny was exposed to, up to his teens. His involvement in the "troubles" saw him land in America on New Year's Day, 1917, where he remained on the run until 1922. His political activities are reported to have drawn a comment in the British House of Commons to the effect: "Who is running Ireland, is it Sean McBride or that Blacksmith from Craughwell?”

Much has been written about Tom Kenny and his involvement in politics and the G.A.A. Every now and again his name pops up, usually in some controversy. His roll in the G.A.A. started around 1909 when he became Chairman of the Connacht Council. He was also Chairman of the County Board for many years and trained his local hurling team for almost two decades. Following his return from America he took the Galway senior hurling team to Rockfield, Athenry in preparation for their first ever All-Ireland victory in 1923.

He earned his living as a blacksmith a non-smoker and strict disciplinarian many who knew him described him as a thorough gentleman. A lovely man to visit in his forge and no better blacksmith. Anybody requiring help who was passing through the village, could rest assured that Tom Kenny would not let them down, be it some small job or a set of shoes for a horse. 

He was intelligent, strong-willed and powerful, commanding great respect from many quarters. He loved his county, country and the game of hurling, which heplayed for two decades and trained the county team to All-Ireland victory. His republican companions were well aware of his integrity and achievements.

On the 29th March 1947, Tom Kenny the Blacksmith from Craughwell died at the age of 67.