FRANK STOCKWELL:FRANK STOCKWELL, who has died aged 80, was regarded as one of the Gaelic football's finest exponents. His contribution of 2-5 to Galway's tally of 2-13 in their 1956 All-Ireland senior football final win over Cork remains a record as the highest score ever recorded by one individual from play in an All-Ireland final.
Further lustre attaches to the scoring return as it was achieved over 60 minutes of play. Today’s finals are of 70-minute duration.
Along with his lifelong friend Seán Purcell, Frank Stockwell also holds a record 10 Galway senior football medals with his beloved Tuam Stars GAA Club, the first in 1947 when still a teenager, and the last, as a sub, in the twilight of a glorious career in 1962. Seven of these championships were won in a row between 1954 and 1960.
Frank Stockwell was born on December 7th, 1928, to Jim and Sara (née Kenny) Stockwell, at Galway Road, Tuam, and the family moved to Waterslade, Tuam, when he was a boy. Although christened Francis, from an early age he became known as Frank or Frankeen, and these names followed him through life.
His father was a painter and decorator. Frank Stockwell received his primary and secondary school education in Presentation Convent NS, Tuam CBS (primary and secondary).
His footballing was evident from a young age, and while a secondary school student he was selected on the combined Connacht Colleges team for the prestigious interprovincial series. “Connacht won the series, and he scored a masterful goal in the final,” said a colleague.
After completing his education, he moved to work in Louth, and lined out for his adopted county. He was selected on the Leinster Railway Cup team but did not actually play, and moved to London for two years. While in London, where he was a star of the Gaelic football scene, he married Pauline Lynn from Crossmolina, Co Mayo. In 1951, he returned to Tuam to resume his football career with Tuam Stars and Galway.
Their return to Tuam saw Frank and Pauline take up residence for a period at Bishop Street, just a few doors away from where Seán Purcell lived. The pair would become known as the Terrible Twins, their intelligent interplay proving a source of menace to defences all over Ireland.
Despite regular trouble with a knee injury, Frank produced a sustained standard of brilliant play through the 1950s. Standing at just 5’8”, and weighing 12 stone, he was, in the words of one colleague, “pound for pound, one of the best ever”. He added: “He had everything – a great leap, skill, speed, courage, accuracy and a temperament for the big day.”
He won Connacht championship, national league and Railway Cup honours. After retiring in 1962, he became a Galway mentor and was widely credited with masterminding many of the famous Galway three-in-a-row All-Ireland triumphs of 1964-66. His involvement with Galway teams continued until the mid-1980s.
After returning from London, he ran the family painting business. Ironically, though a past-pupil of Tuam CBS, he spent much of his working time in nearby St Jarlath’s College, one of Ireland’s finest Gaelic football nurseries.
A former pupil recalls a quiet, unassuming man who talked enthusiastically about Gaelic football. “He would never boast about himself,” he said.
He enjoyed boxing, having dabbled in the sport in his youth. Family members heard him express considerable optimism about the prospects of the
Galway football team for the current season.
His wife passed away in late 2000, causing him great sadness, and his final years were marked by poor health .
He is survived by daughters Fidelis and Marilynn, son Francis (who won an All-Ireland colleges title with St Jarlath’s), sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives and a wide circle of friends.
Frank Stockwell: born December 7th, 1928; died: March 9th, 2009