Liam MacCarthy (1853–1928) was an Irish nationalist, businessman and activist in

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 ...

; best known for his donation to the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

of a trophy for the

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 ...

, which is called the Liam MacCarthy Cup in his honour.

Personal life

MacCarthy was born in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, London to Catholic Irish parents who had emigrated from

Ballygarvan, County Cork Ballygarvan () is a village in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies 9km south of Cork (city), Cork City. The village had a population of 556 inhabitants as of the 2016 census. Occupying the eastern half of Ballinhassig parish, the v ...

. His father Eoghan MacCarthy was nicknamed ''Capall'', Irish for 'horse' because of his great strength. Liam grew up in a close knit Irish community; he played

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

on Clapham Common and Irish was the first language in the family home. After leaving school he worked as a blacksmith's hammerman and as a railwayman. In 1875, at age 22, he married Alice Padbury in

St George's Cathedral, Southwark The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St George, usually known as St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, south London, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Southwark. The cathedral is ...

. The couple had four sons. His wife's family owned a fancy box factory and Liam joined the family business but a few years later he struck out on his own setting up a fancy box making factory in the family home. After some years he set up a factory in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

which he called St. Brigid's works. He died on 28 September 1928 and was buried at

Camberwell Old Cemetery The two Camberwell cemeteries are close to one another in Honor Oak, south London, England. Both have noteworthy burials and architecture, and they are an important source of socioeconomic data in recording the historical growth and changing dem ...

in London.

GAA

He was also elected chairman of

London GAA The London County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Londain) or London GAA is one of the county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in London. The county board is also r ...

county board, a position he held for 10 years.

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

and Sam Maguire were also members of the London county board. In conjunction with two of his sons, Liam commissioned the manufacture of a trophy in the form of a

mether A mether (; ga, meadar) is a communal or 'Friendship' drinking vessel from the Celtic tradition, mainly in Ireland and originally solely for mead with old examples being made of wood although they might have silver ornamentation added at a later ...

, an ancient Irish drinking cup. This cup was offered to the GAA central council in

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

and was gratefully accepted. It is awarded annually and in perpetuity to the winners of the

Ballygarvan GAA Ballygarvan GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Ballygarvan, County Cork, Ireland. The club fields teams in hurling, Gaelic football and camogie. The club plays in the Carrigdhoun division of Cork GAA. History The ...

's ground is called "Liam MacCarthy Park".

Politics

Liam became a leader in London's Irish community and was elected to the council of the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell in the North Pechkam ward. Despite his advanced years he joined the London branch of the Irish Volunteers along with his sons. He was also a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1915, Britain introduced conscription; a crisis meeting of the London branch of the Irish volunteers was held at his home in east Dulwich to discuss the issue. As a councillor Liam could not publicly advise men to avoid conscription but in response to question from Michael Collins he said, "If you come from Clonakilty it is obvious where you must go" - in other words advising them to return to Ireland where conscription was not in force.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacCarthy, Liam 1853 births 1928 deaths People from Southwark Gaelic games players from London English people of Irish descent Members of Camberwell Metropolitan Borough Council Patrons of the Gaelic Athletic Association