IN 1913, THE GAA bought the sports grounds at Jones Road in Drumcondra in Dublin for £3,500 and named the venue Croke Park in honour of its first patron, Archbishop Croke.
The first All-Ireland hurling final in the newly inaugurated Croke Park took place that year on Sunday, November 2nd, the first final with 15 players on each team. Kilkenny beat Tipperary 2-4 to 1-2. A programme from the game is among the highlights of GAA memorabilia at Mealy’s auction on September 27th. The eight-page programme, printed by the Gaelic Press, has a pre-sale estimate of €800-€1,200.
Other GAA lots in the sale include programmes from the hurling finals of 1939, Kilkenny v Cork, at the start of the second World War and known as the “Thunder and Lightning Final”, €500-€700; and of Wexford v Tipperary in 1960, €100-€150.
Various medals will be sold including an “extremely rare” 1913 9ct gold, shield-shape medal featuring crossed hurls and a shamrock surround inscribed “Croke Memorial Competition 1913, Won by Tipperary” (€2,000-€3,000).
Football memorabilia includes a 1938 Connaught Championship medal won by Galway, (€300-€400) and the programme for the 1936 All-Ireland Final (Mayo v Laois), €600-€800.
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