Member Profile Joe Ward

Joe Ward R.I.P.

JOE WARD IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER HORGAN

Joe Ward became involved with St. Michaels G.F.C. in 1973 when his son Paddy was asked to play for the underage section of the club. Originally from Dublin, he moved to Cork in1961. He was involved in GAA well before he started in St. Michaels, as he had been Secretary and Treasurer for Parnell's in Dublin.

Joe's fondest memory of St. Michaels was when the Minor Team of 1974 won the League, City and County Championships. Players involved at that time included Joe's son Paddy, Tom Cashman and current Senior Team Manager Sean Horgan. Most of that team went on to win the U21 Championship in 1976.

He well remembers the three in a row in the Seventies and describes the atmosphere around Blackrock at the time as fantastic. The team was full of good footballers, especially Danny Buckley who was also a brilliant hurler and won an All Ireland Championship with Blackrock at the age of seventeen.

Joe believes that the Underage Section is the club, as without the underage there will be no Senior team in the future.

Joe hopes that the Minor Team will soon emulate the successes of the 1974 team. He would also like to see Blackrock and St. Michaels work more closely together.

Joe continues his involvement with the club through the St. Michaels Golf Classic Committee which has raised over €50,000 for the club over the last eight years.