Thomas Langan (23 September 1921 – 22 September 1974) 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 who played as a centre-forward and as a full-forward for the senior Mayo county team. He was selected at full-forward on the

Football Team of the Millennium 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 ...

in 1999. Langan joined the team during the 1943 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement following the conclusion of the 1956 championship. During that time he won two

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 ...

medals, five

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 ...

medals and two

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

medals.

Playing career

Langan was born in Ballymachugh,

Ballycastle, County Mayo Ballycastle () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, situated northwest from Ballina, near Mayo's north coast. It lies on the edge of the Mayo Gaeltacht. Ballycastle is situated on the coast of north County Mayo, with its northern boundary ex ...

. Despite his youth, Langan helped Ballycastle to win the Mayo senior championship of 1937. In 1938, he made his first appearance for Mayo's minor team in the

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

. Five years later, he made his senior debut, playing at centre-half-forward. Langan was at his best during Mayo's golden period from 1948 to 1955, as they won five

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

s and two All-Irelands. Langan's first

All-Ireland Final The All-Ireland Final may refer to: * All-Ireland Hurling Final, the last match to be played in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship (Senior, Minor and Under-21 levels) * The last match to be played in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...

was in 1948, but a strong Cavan team beat Mayo by one point. In 1950, Langan was selected at full-forward for the first time in the All-Ireland semi-final against

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

. He scored two goals in a Mayo win. Mayo also won the final against Louth, and Langan had his first All-Ireland medal. From then on, he won fame as one of the greatest full-forwards in football history. Langan's fielding and goals were again crucial in 1951. Mayo won the Connacht championship for the fourth successive time and advanced to the All-Ireland seni-final against Kerry. With Mayo behind in injury-time, Langan was switched to full-forward against the great Kerry full-back

Paddy Bawn Brosnan Patrick "Paddy Bawn" Brosnan (16 November 1917 – 23 July 1995) was an Irish Gaelic footballer whose league and championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. ...

. He scored a vital goal and Mayo went on to force a replay, which they won. They completed their second consecutive All-Ireland title by beating Meath by five points in the final, with Langan netting another fine goal. Langan also represented

in the

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 ...

, earning a winner's medals against Munster in the 1951 Final. Langan's last appearance in county football was against

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 ...

in the Connacht Championship of 1956. He retired following Galway's victory in that game.

Post-Retirement

Tom Langan was a Garda detective in Dublin at the time of his death in 1974, on the eve of his 53rd birthday. In 1984, 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 ...

centenary year, he was honoured by being named on their Football Team of the Century. In 1999 he was again honoured by the GAA by being named on their Gaelic Football Team of the Millennium. On 16 September 1984, the Tom Langan Park was officially opened by Dr Mick Loftus, then President-elect of the G.A.A. It remains the home ground of the local Ballycastle club.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20060303021127/http://www.hoganstand.com/general/champs/millennium.aspx *https://web.archive.org/web/20050817075113/http://archives.tcm.ie/westernpeople/2002/04/17/story9298.asp *http://www.goldenlangan.com/tomlangan.html *http://www.rte.ie/sport/2006/0913/kerryvmayo.html
Ballad of Tom Langan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langan, Tommy 1921 births 1974 deaths Gaelic football forwards Garda Síochána officers Mayo inter-county Gaelic footballers People from Castlebar