James Power (7 November 1895 – 21 May 1998) was an Irish hurler who played as a full-back for the

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

senior teams. Born in

Duniry Duniry () is a townland, with a small village centre, between Tynagh and Abbey, in County Galway, Ireland. Nearby is the townland of Limehill, the south of which has a bog. Duniry is in a civil parish of the same name. Duniry's most noted lan ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Power first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-two when he first linked up with the Galway senior team, before later lining out with the junior side. He made his senior debut in the 1918 championship. Power went on to enjoy a ten-year inter-county career, and won one

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medal and one

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions. Power represented the

inter-provincial team on one occasion, however, he ended his career without a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () 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 and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medals. At club level he won five

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

medals with

Tynagh Tynagh () is a village and electoral division in south-east County Galway in Ireland. The village is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. Origin of the name Recorded as ''Tyneaach'' (1565), ''Teacneaghe'' (1543), ''Theaneac'' (1541) ...

. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 1928 championship. Power is the longest-lived All-Ireland medallist.

Playing career

Club

Power played his club hurling with

and enjoyed much success during a lengthy career. After losing back-to-back championship deciders in 1918 and 1919, Tynagh qualified for a third successive county final in 1920. A defeat of Kilconieron gave Power his first

. medal. After the suspension of the championship the following year, Tynagh reached the county decider once again in 1922.

Galway City Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

were defeated on that occasion with Power winning a second championship medal. Tynagh made it two-in-a-row in 1923 with Power adding a third medal to his collection following a defeat of

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village and civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall cont ...

. Once again the championship was suspended in 1924, however, Tynagh continued their dominance on its resumption by reaching the county final again in 1925.

Craughwell Craughwell (historically ''Creaghmoyle'', from ) is a village and townland in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the village had a population of approximately 1,000 people. Craughwell is ...

were defeated on this occasion as Power won his fourth championship medal. After two years of no championship activity, Tynagh defeated Peterswell in the championship decider of 1928. It was Power's fifth and final championship medal.

Inter-county

Power first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Galway senior team in 1918. He enjoyed little success in his first few years on the team, however, Galway captured the

title in 1922 and gave a good account of themselves in a narrow defeat by Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final. In 1923 Galway qualified for their first All-Ireland final in thirty-six years. After beating reigning champions

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

at the penultimate stage, Galway now faced

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

who were bidding for a third All-Ireland title in seven years. A high-scoring game developed, however, at half-time the sides were level. A hat-trick of goals by Leonard McGrath and powerful displays by

Mick Gill Michael Gill (22 September 1899 – 21 September 1980) was an Irish hurling, hurler. At club level he played with Ballinderreen GAA, Ballinderreen and Garda GAA, Garda, and also lined out at inter-county level with Galway GAA, Galway and Dublin ...

and Mick Derivan helped Galway to a 7–3 to 4–5 victory. It was a first

medal for Power. Power was a key member of the team again in 1924 as Galway reached a second successive All-Ireland decider with

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

providing the opposition. Galway played with the wind in the first half and led by three points at the break. Two goals by Dublin forward

Garrett Howard Garrett Howard (10 December 1899 – 20 January 1995) was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-back for the Limerick, Dublin and Tipperary senior teams. Born in Patrickswell, County Limerick, Howard first arrived on the inter-county scen ...

and a great goalkeeping display by

Tommy Daly Thomas Daly (15 September 1894 – 21 September 1936) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Tulla in Clare and Collegians in Dublin. Daly also played hurling at inter-county level with both Clar ...

ensured a 5–3 to 2–6 defeat for Galway. Kenny retired from inter-county hurling following this defeat. After a number of years off the team Power returned in 1928, this time as captain of the team. Galway received a bye straight into the All-Ireland final with

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

providing the opposition. The westerners were completely overwhelmed with Mick "Gah" Ahern running riot and scoring 5–4. Power's side could only muster a single score during the hour and were eventually trounced by 6–12 to 1–0. After taking umbrage at the physical treatment of

Mick King Mick King (1905 – 15 March 1961) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Castlegar and with the Galway senior inter-county team from 1923 until 1935. In 2000, King was posthumously named on the Galway Hurling Team ...

by some of the Cork players, Power threw his hurley onto the ground at the full-time whistle and decided to retire from hurling.

Honours

Player

;Tynagh *

Galway Senior Club Hurling Championship The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway GAA, Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1 ...

(5): 1920, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1928 *Galway Junior Club Hurling Championship (1): 1915 ;Galway *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

Connacht Senior Hurling Championship The Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Connacht GAA, Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inte ...

(5):

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Jim 1895 births 1998 deaths Tynagh hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Irish men centenarians