Oonah Fay Shannahan ( Murray; 3 September 1921 – 28 September 2022) was a New Zealand

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

player. She captained the New Zealand team in their second Test match, in 1948 against Australia.

Early life

Shannahan was born Oonah Fay Murray in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on 3 September 1921, one of five children of Frederick Joseph Murray and Margaret Murray. Her father worked on the railways, and the family moved to

Taihape Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town. History and culture Early ...

for five years before settling in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. She was educated at

Sacred Heart Girls' College Sacred Heart Girls' College (SHGC) is an independent Roman Catholic secondary school for girls from years 7 to 12 located in the Melbourne south-eastern suburb of Oakleigh, in Victoria, Australia. It was opened in 1957 by the Sisters of Our ...

in Christchurch, where she excelled at sports, winning the senior athletics championship in 1937 and 1938.

Netball career

Murray was captain of the Canterbury provincial netball team, and in 1948 she was selected as captain of the New Zealand national team for the first Test against the touring Australian team at Forbury Park in

. The match was played under international rules, with seven players per side, which were unfamiliar to the New Zealanders who were used to playing nine-a-side. The Australian team was victorious, winning 27–16. The match was the only occasion on which Murray represented New Zealand, because the New Zealand side for the three-Test series was selected on a regional basis, and she was unavailable for the final game as it conflicted with the wedding of Murray's sister.

Later life and death

Oonah Murray married Francis John Shannahan, a New Zealand secondary schools

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 ...

representative that toured Australia in 1938. The couple had two children, and he died in 2009. After her playing career, Shannahan continued her involvement in netball as an administrator, and she received a Netball New Zealand service award. She lived with her daughter at McCormacks Bay, and celebrated her 100th birthday on 3 September 2021. She died in Christchurch on 28 September 2022, at the age of 101. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living New Zealand netball international.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannahan, Oonah 1921 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Dunedin New Zealand international netball players People educated at Catholic Cathedral College Netball players from Christchurch New Zealand centenarians Women centenarians