Harold Alexander Cahill (9 June 1930 – 18 September 2009), also known as Harry Cahill, was a

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and Ireland men's field hockey international goalkeeper. He represented Great Britain at the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

. Between 1953 and 1973 he made 72 senior appearances for Ireland. He also represented Ireland at the

1970 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship The 1970 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship was the inaugural edition of the Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, the quadrennial international men's field hockey championship of Europe organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held ...

. In 1961 Cahill won an Irish Senior Cup winners medal with Belfast YMCA. In 2006 he was inducted into the inaugural

Irish Hockey Association Hockey Ireland, previously known as the Irish Hockey Association, is the governing body for field hockey in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for organising both the Ireland men's national field hockey team and t ...

Hall of Fame. He died on 18 September 2009 while on holiday in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Early years, family and education

Cahill was born on 9 June 1930 at 94 Fitzroy Avenue in

Drumcondra, Dublin Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area. History The village of Drumcondra was the central a ...

. His father, Henry Joshua Cahill, worked as a superintendent at

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

. His mother was Mary Maeve Cahill (''née'' Golder). The Cahill family later lived at 13 Cremore Crescent in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

. His brother, Cecil Cahill, was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper who played for both Shelbourne and

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

during the 1950s and 1960s. He also represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

at amateur level. His sister, Irene Cahill Johnston, was captain of the

Ireland women's national field hockey team The Ireland women's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international women's field hockey competitions, including the Women's Hockey World Cup and the Wom ...

and later served as president of the

Irish Ladies Hockey Union Hockey Ireland, previously known as the Irish Hockey Association, is the governing body for field hockey in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for organising both the Ireland men's national field hockey team and t ...

. Before concentrating on field hockey, Harry Cahill was also a notable

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete. He was a member of the Civil Service Athletic Club. He was

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

champion in 1951–52 and finished third in the Irish

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

championship in June 1953. He was selected to represent Ireland at the 1952 Summer Olympics but did not travel due to a lack of funds.

Domestic teams

Mountjoy School, Dublin

Cahill was educated at

Mountjoy School, Dublin Mount Temple Comprehensive School is a secondary school in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under the patronage of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and has, as a primary objective, the provision of state-funded second-le ...

where in 1947 he completed his

Leaving Cert A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

. He also played

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

at Mountjoy School and was a member of the team that played in the 1947 Leinster Schoolboys' Hockey Senior Cup final, losing to

The King's Hospital The Hospital and Free School of King Charles II, Oxmantown, also called The King's Hospital (KH; ) is a Church of Ireland co-educational independent day and boarding school situated in Palmerstown, Dublin, Ireland. It is on an 80-acre campus be ...

after a replay.

Pembroke Wanderers

In 1951 Cahill began playing as a left half-back for Pembroke Wanderers II's. Cahill had previously played as an

goalkeeper, so in October 1951, after the team's regular goalkeeper emigrated, he began to fill in. He quickly found himself promoted to the first team and in November 1951 he was selected to play in goal for Leinster. Cahill also made his senior

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

debut while playing for Wanderers. Both his sister, Irene Cahill Johnston, and his future wife, Ina, also played for Wanderers as well as the

Belfast YMCA

Cahill worked in insurance and in 1955 his work required to him to move to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

where he played for Belfast YMCA, winning Irish Senior Cup with them in 1961. While with Belfast YMCA he also played for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

and represented

England

When playing for Coventry & North Warwickshire Hockey Club in the 1960s, Cahill trained with

Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed th ...

, then managed by

Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...

. Hill allegedly offered Cahill professional terms as an

er. In 1974 he helped Coventry & North Warwickshire win the Midlands League. He also played for Tamworth and eventually finished his

playing career with Worthing, helping them to win the 1981 Sussex Cup when aged over 50. He continued playing in veterans competitions into his late 50s and also served as Worthing club captain between 1986 and 1990. At club level he often chose to play outfield as an inside-right. While playing in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Cahill also represented Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Buckinghamshire at inter-county level.

International

Ireland

Between 1953 and 1973 Cahill made 72 senior appearances for

. He made his debut for Ireland in February 1953. He helped Ireland win the 1968 Home Nations Championship, the 1972 Santander Trophy and toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1973. He also represented Ireland at the

. On 29 April 1973, Cahill made his final appearance for Ireland against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In 2006 Cahill was inducted into the inaugural

Hall of Fame. Other inductees included David Judge,

Maeve Kyle Maeve Esther Enid Kyle, OBE, née Shankey (born 6 October 1928), is an Irish Olympic athlete and hockey player. She was born in County Kilkenny. She competed in the 100m and 200m in the Melbourne Olympics and subsequently in the Rome Olympics ...

and Thelma Hopkins.

Great Britain

Cahill made 35 senior appearances for

. He represented Great Britain at the

and

. In December 1963 he also toured

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

with Great Britain.

Personal life

On 14 July 1967 Cahill married his wife, Ina, at

St. George's Church, Dublin St. George's Church is a former parish church in Dublin, Ireland, designed by Francis Johnston, it is considered to be one of his finest works. The structure is located at Hardwicke Place, just north of the city centre, though when it was ope ...

. They had two daughters. After retiring as a

player he continued to play

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

and

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

. He also served as an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

at Worthing Hockey Club and ran three

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

s –

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and Worthing – when well into his 50s. He died on 18 September 2009 while on holiday in

Honours

;

*Home Nations Championship **''Winners'': 1968: 1 *Santander Trophy **''Winners'': 1972: 1 ;Coventry & North Warwickshire * Midlands League **''Winners'': 1974: 1 ;Belfast YMCA * Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 1961: 1 ;

*Leinster Schoolboys' Hockey Senior Cup **''Runners up'': 1947

References

External links