Michael Gerard Tubridy (28 September 1922 – 16 April 1954) was an all-Ireland winning

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 an international showjumper.`Death of Captain Tubridy', Irish Times, 16 April 1954. He was born in Kilrush, County Clare,. ''Kilrush Shamrocks''. Retrieved 13 July 2011. one of ten children of Patrick F. Tubridy (died 1947). He entered the Irish Army as a cadet in November 1941, serving at Ballincollig, County Cork. He joined the Cork Gaelic Football team and played as a left wing-forward 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 in 1945. Tubridy played for the team for just one season in the 1945 championship. It was a successful year as he won a set of All-Ireland and

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 ...

winner's medals. At club level Tubridy played with the Kilrush Shamrocks and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

clubs. In 1945, he transferred to the Irish Army's Equitation School and achieved many showjumping successes on horses such as Bruree and Ballyneety. After retiring from the army on 25 January 1954, he was manager of Joe McGrath's Trimblestown Stud Farm in Kildalkey, county Meath. He died on 16 April 1954 following a riding accident at Trimblestown and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery on 19 April 1954.Irish Times death notice, 16 Apr 1954. He was survived by his widow Dorothy (née Lawlor), known as Dot, and one daughter, Aine. The Kilrush Shamrocks playing field is officially named "Captain Tubridy Memorial Park" in his honour, although it is affectionately known as "the Cricket Field". It is located 1 mile south of Kilrush on the road to the Killimer car ferry.

Dorothy Tubridy

Through her husband's equestrian activities, Dorothy ('Dot') Tubridy became friends with Ethel Kennedy, and after his death she remained close to the entire Kennedy family. She became a brand ambassador for Waterford Crystal and Donegal Carpets in the United States, and was instrumental in encouraging the visit of president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

to Ireland in June 1963. Dot also became a writer and a radio and TV commentator, and was a well-known celebrity in 1960s Ireland. Some sources have described Dot as an aunt of broadcaster Ryan Tubridy while Ryan Tubridy himself, in his biography of John F. Kennedy, referred to Dot as his cousin. In fact there is no apparent immediate family connection between Ryan Tubridy and either Dorothy (née Lawlor) or her late husband Capt. Mick Tubridy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tubridy, Michael G. 1922 births 1954 deaths Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Munster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) Clare Gaelic footballers People from Kilrush Irish Army soldiers Irish show jumping riders Equestrians from County Clare Deaths by horse-riding accident in Ireland