Michael Mehigan (12 September 1886 – 20 December 1955) was an

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 ...

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er and a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

politician during the Irish Revolution.

Sporting career

Mehigan played as a left wing-back for the

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 ...

senior team. He made his first appearance for the team during the 1906 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen over the next decade. During that time he won one

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal and three

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

medals. In 1911 Mehigan captained the team to the All-Ireland title. At club level Mehigan was a multiple

county championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

medalist with Lees. He began his club career with

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

. Mehigan hailed from a family with a strong association with

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

. His younger brother, Denis, followed him onto the Cork football team. His elder brother,

Paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...

, played both

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 ...

and football for Cork and

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 ...

and was later a pioneering Gaelic games journalist. A great grand-nephew,

Owen Sexton Owen Sexton (born 1975) is an Irish retired Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-back for the Cork senior team. Born in Kilbrittain, County Cork, Sexton first played competitive Gaelic football whilst at school at Hamilton High School, Ba ...

, played for Cork in the 2000s.

Political activity

Mehigan was active in Sinn Féin from 1917. In 1920 he was arrested and sent to Wormwood Scrubs prison where, with others, he was involved in a hunger strike in April/May. In June 1920, back in Cork, he acted as returning officer during the local elections in the county. He became chairman of the Cork Rural District Council in 1921. After the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

he took the pro-Treaty side but did not engage in the Civil War. In the 1922 general election he toured the polling booths in the Clonakilty district with

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 ...

. After the Civil War he moved to Dublin and worked in the civil service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehigan, Mick 1886 births 1955 deaths Clonakilty Gaelic footballers Lees Gaelic footballers Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)