James Power (7 November 1895 – 21 May 1998) was an Irish hurler who played as a full-back for the

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

senior teams. Born in

Duniry Duniry is a small village between Tynagh and Abbey, in County Galway, Ireland. Nearby is the townland of Limehill, the south of which has a bog. Duniry's most noted landmark was Egan's castle, now derelict; it flourished from 1450 to 1600 and ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Power first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-two when he first linked up with the Galway senior team, before later lining out with the junior side. He made his senior debut in the 1918 championship. Power went on to enjoy a ten-year inter-county career, and won one All-Ireland medal and one

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions. Power represented the

inter-provincial team on one occasion, however, he ended his career without a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medals. At club level he won five championship medals with Tynagh. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 1928 championship. Power is the longest-lived All-Ireland medallist.

Playing career

Club

Power played his club hurling with Tynagh and enjoyed much success during a lengthy career. After losing back-to-back championship deciders in 1918 and 1919, Tynagh qualified for a third successive county final in 1920. A defeat of Kilconieron gave Power his first championship. medal. After the suspension of the championship the following year, Tynagh reached the county decider once again in 1922. Galway City were defeated on that occasion with Power winning a second championship medal. Tynagh made it two-in-a-row in 1923 with Power adding a third medal to his collection following a defeat of

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall contains the remains ...

. Once again the championship was suspended in 1924, however, Tynagh continued their dominance on its resumption by reaching the county final again in 1925.

Craughwell Craughwell (historically ''Creaghmoyle'', from ) is a town and townland in County Galway, Ireland. Name The name Craughwell is also used as a surname, properly '' Ó Creachmhaoil'', though often anglicised as ''Craughwell'', ''Croughwell'' and ...

were defeated on this occasion as Power won his fourth championship medal. After two years of no championship activity, Tynagh defeated Peterswell in the championship decider of 1928. It was Power's fifth and final championship medal.

Inter-county

Power first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Galway senior team in 1918. He enjoyed little success in his first few years on the team, however, Galway captured the

title in 1922 and gave a good account of themselves in a narrow defeat by

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final. In 1923 Galway qualified for their first All-Ireland final in thirty-six years. After beating reigning champions

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

at the penultimate stage, Galway now faced

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

who were bidding for a third All-Ireland title in seven years. A high-scoring game developed, however, at half-time the sides were level. A hat-trick of goals by Leonard McGrath and powerful displays by

Mick Gill Michael Gill (22 September 1899 – 21 September 1980) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Galway and Dublin senior teams from 1922 until 1938. Gill made his first championship appearance during the 1922 championship ...

and

Mick Derivan Michael Dervan (19 May 1898 – 3 April 1981) was an Irish hurler. Usually lining out at corner-back, he was a member of the Galway team that won the 1923 All-Ireland Championship. Dervan enjoyed a club career with Tynagh Tynagh () is a ...

helped Galway to a 7-3 to 4-5 victory. It was a first All-Ireland medal for Power. Power was a key member of the team again in 1924 as Galway reached a second successive All-Ireland decider with

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 ...

providing the opposition. Galway played with the wind in the first-half and led by three points at the break. Two goals by Dublin forward

Garrett Howard Garrett Howard (10 December 1899 – 20 January 1995) was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-back for the Limerick, Dublin and Tipperary senior teams. Born in Patrickswell, County Limerick, Howard first arrived on the inter-county scene ...

and a great goalkeeping display by

Tommy Daly Thomas Daly (15 September 1894 – 21 September 1936) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Tulla in Clare and Collegians in Dublin. Daly also played hurling at inter-county level with both Clare ...

ensured a 5-3 to 2-6 defeat for Galway. Kenny retired from inter-county hurling following this defeat. After a number of years off the team Power returned in 1928, this time as captain of the team. Galway received a bye straight into the All-Ireland final with

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

providing the opposition. The westerners were completely overwhelmed with Mick "Gah" Ahern running riot and scoring 5-4. Power's side could only muster a single score during the hour and were eventually trounced by 6-12 to 1-0. After taking umbrage at the physical treatment of

Mick King Mick King (1905 – 15 March 1961) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Castlegar and with the Galway senior inter-county team from 1923 until 1935. In 2000, King was posthumously named on the Galway Hurling Team ...

by some of the Cork players, Power threw his hurley onto the ground at the full-time whistle and decided to retire from hurling.

Honours

Player

;Tynagh *

Galway Senior Club Hurling Championship The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for th ...

(5): 1920, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1928 *Galway Junior Club Hurling Championship (1): 1915 ;Galway *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

(1):

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

Connacht Senior Hurling Championship The Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inter-county hurl ...

(5):

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Jim 1895 births 1998 deaths Tynagh hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Irish centenarians Men centenarians