PROGRAMME PLUS – VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4, APRIL 29 th , 2016 Collectors young and old, the newer additions and the veterans of the hobby, are very welcome to the fourth edition of Programme Plus which comes at the end of a month featuring five rather than four Fridays. That leaves an extra week of material to consider, so I’ll get into the content without any further delay! PROGRAMME OF THE MONTH: I pinpointed my likely award winner for April very early in the month - on the first Saturday in fact when I travelled to the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow to buy copies of the souvenir programme for the 1916 Carlow hurling and football finals re-enactment taking place later that day in Netwatch Cullen Park. Bagenalstown played Carlow-Graigue in hurling while Tullow took on Tinryland in football, and it was Carlow’s special way of celebrating the centenary. It’s always wonderful to come across something different to adorn a collection, and for €3 the organisers produced a 20-page programme very much in keeping with the way things were one hundred years ago. The newspaper font of the time was used throughout to give it an authentic feel, on a faded brown background with a similar purpose in mind. Page two features a report on the 1916 football final, a 1-9 to 0-5 victory for Tullow over Tinryland. Eamonn Byrne contributes three pages on what the G.A.A. was like in Tinryland in 1916, and then there’s two pages apiece of pen pictures on the Tinryland and Tullow panels. The centrespread features the team line-outs from one hundred years ago, with the players taking part in the re-enactment listed below, including details of the direct family links six of them had to the men of 1916. There’s similar coverage for the hurling teams on the next two pages, although the full Bagenalstown side of 1916 wasn’t known with just four players’ names available as the complete squad wasn’t listed in newspapers of the time. Next up is a page apiece on the early days of the G.A.A. in Carlow-Graigue and in Tullow respectively, followed by two pages of Carlow-Graigue pen pictures. The last of the reading material is a piece on Bagenalstown’s victorious campaign with pen pictures underneath of the four players whose involvement in the final could be confirmed through match reports. The back page of this fine historical item is an advert for event sponsors, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, and once again it is suitably done in 1916 style rather than a modern look which would have been out of place. Leo McGough, a good friend of this bulletin and one of the foremost statisticians in the country, was responsible for the vast majority of the research for this programme and, true to form, he left no stone unturned. Hats off also to Clem Delaney for the design and layout, and I should stress that there’s no fewer than 17 photographs too from a long-gone, but not forgotten, era to adorn a truly excellent publication. Now, to address a matter that I’m sure has crossed some minds reading the above details: how can I give programme of the month to the Carlow offering when DBA did such a fine job on the historical content for the Allianz Football League finals at the end of the month? Well, first of all I feel a distinction needs to be made between programmes compiled by volunteers as opposed to professional publishers. The purpose of this ‘award’ - and there’s no prize as we know, just acknowledgement of a job well done and hopefully encouragement for the future - is to highlight the best work of programme compiling enthusiasts all over the country. That’s why I have given Carlow the nod, without taking in any way from DBA’s 80-page programme from April 24 th in Croke Park which cost €5 and should be a part of every collection. There is a striking front page collage of photographs from one hundred years ago, and the programme’s real strength is the 18-page focus on 1916 to the rear which was superbly researched and presented in a very attractive manner. Noel Treacy, National Chairman of the Commemorations and History committee, outlines their work to date and events to come before three pages on the G.A.A. and the 1916 Rising in Leinster, written by Richard McElligott. He also contributes three pages on Munster, before three on Connacht penned by Dr. Conor McNamara, and three on Ulster from Dónal McAnallen, another of our subscribers. That’s followed by a striking two pages listing the Dublin G.A.A. members who fought in The Rising, a thorough list of approximately 300 men with their clubs outlined, the sites where they saw action, and, sadly, those who died have their names highlighted in red. This programme is a fitting souvenir of what was a special occasion in Croke Park, and there’s also a three and a half-page piece by Seán Moran on the 1916 All-Ireland football championship won by my own Wexford; it’s safe to say that we won’t be seeing a repeat of that one hundred years down the line! That article contains an illustration of the front cover of the 1914 final programme, presumably because one for 1916 wasn’t available in the archives. If you haven’t got a copy of this fine publication, make contact with Lynn in DBA quickly before it goes out of print! GREAT WORK IN GALWAY: It takes a lot to really impress me after more than 30 years collecting programmes; it’s a rare occasion when my jaw drops to the floor at the sheer quality of a publication, but that’s exactly what happened as recently as yesterday when I opened an envelope sent by Joe Keane, the new Galway Hurling Board P.R.O. to whom I bestowed the programme of the month honour in a previous edition. An unexpected delight awaited me and, like the DBA Football League finals programme, it’s one that should be in every collection, even those without much emphasis on the club scene. Joe has produced an absolutely magnificent 64-page, full-colour programme for €5 to cover the group rounds of the Galway Senior ‘A’, Senior ‘B’ and Intermediate hurling championships. The quality is astounding and, in fact, the vast majority of counties wouldn’t even produce something as good for their county finals, let alone games at this time of year. The layout by KPW Print in Ballinasloe is superb, and the colours burst off every page. The grand total of 35 clubs are involved in these three championships; all of them are given a page apiece featuring the club’s name, crest, plus Facebook, Twitter and website details if applicable on the top, along with a plug for the sponsor. There’s an action shot of one player beside a potted history of the club, and a helpful panel giving the Senior or Intermediate final record in thumbnail form, e.g. ‘Cappataggle have never appeared in a Galway senior final’, or, ‘Liam Mellows won the title eight times, 1933, ’43, ’45, ’46, ’54, ’55, ’68 and ’70. Runners up in 1957.’ At the bottom of each page are the team panel numbers along with names of the backroom members and main club officers. Perhaps a teamsheet will still be issued for each game to save patrons who buy this programme from thumbing through it when, for example, the team listed on page 10 plays the one on page 15 during the group stage. That’s not a quibble though, merely an observation. In his acknowledgement, editor Joe Keane states ‘to you the public who like collecting programmes I hope this souvenir edition fits nicely into your collection’. You can say that again Joe, it’s simply magnificent! As well as the page per club format, there’s a number of topical news items such as a page on the 2015 club All Stars, coverage of Mullagh’s win in the delayed 2015 league final played on Easter Monday, two pages on last year’s Sarsfields v. Craughwell Senior final draw and replay, details of the cups being played for, the championship regulations, the group fixtures and dates plus dates for the championship rounds, competition previews by members of the local media, two pages on Galway’s Easter Rising celebrations, a page on last year’s Intermediate final, and four on the recent Féile na nGael hurling finals. With so much detail on the clubs, this is an incredible resource and it should be a must-have for anyone with an interest in history in particular. I cannot praise it highly enough - contact [email protected] to secure a copy. Many counties adopt a similar approach to Galway - but nowhere near this level of detail - by producing one programme to cover a full round of club games. This is a handy item to bring around to the matches, especially for the dedicated followers who will attend matches Friday, Saturday and Sunday on any given weekend. I believe this is the first year a combined Offaly programme has been produced rather than individual teamsheets. The hurling first round was on April 10 th , with six Senior games and five in the Intermediate grade held at eight venues between 12 noon and 6.15 p.m. A 16-page, black and white, programme was produced for €2 with full game details on the cover, the Senior roll of honour on page two, line-outs on three and four, a page on the new Celtic Challenge on five, a page on the Pádraig Moran Memorial football match, Mountjoy Garda Station v.