Peter Joseph Salmon (1 April 1930 – 23 July 1991) was an Irish sportsperson. He played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

at various times with his local club, Meelick-Eyrecourt,before switching, for a short period, to

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...

in Galway and Glen Rovers in Cork because of migration. Salmon also played with 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 inter-county team from 1949 until 1964.

Playing career

Club

Salmon played his club

with his local club Meelick-Eyrecourt. He also played with the Glen Rovers club in Cork. In all, Salmon collected five county championship medals.

Inter-county

Salmon first became prominent with the

minor inter-county team in the 1940s. He lined out in the All-Ireland final of 1947. However, Tipperary were the victors on that occasion. Salmon later joined the Galway senior team; however, as the county faced no competition in the Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, the team went straight into the All-Ireland series every year. Salmon first tasted success with Galway in 1951. That year, his side reached the finals of the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

. Galway defeated

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, giving Salmon a National League medal. Two years later, in 1953, Galway defeated the

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 ...

team in the penultimate stage of the championship. This victory allowed Salmon's side to advance to the All-Ireland final, where

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 * ...

provided the opposition. Galway lost the game by 3-3 to 0-8. After the match at the Gresham Hotel in

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 ...

, a fight broke out when another Galway player struck Cork's Christy Ring. The following morning, another fight broke out when another member of the Galway panel attempted to hit Ring. The fights, however, ended just as quickly as they had started. Five years later, in 1958, Galway was given a bye into the All-Ireland final to improve the standard of hurling in the county. Tipperray provided the opposition on that occasion. Liam Devaney, Donie Nealon, and Larry Keane scored goals for Tipp in the first half, while Tony Wall sent a 70-yard free untouched to the Galway net. Tipp won the game by 4-9 to 2-5. This defeat saw Galway enter the Munster Championship in 1959. Salmon retired from inter-county hurling in 1964.

Provincial

Salmon also lined out with

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 ...

in the inter-provincial hurling competition; however, he never won 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 ...

medal.

Personal life and death

Salmon married Celia Morgan in 1964, and together they had three children. He died suddenly at his home in Cork, on 23 July 1991, at the age of 61.

References

Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005)

External links

Galway GAA honours
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, Joe 1930 births 1991 deaths Liam Mellows hurlers Glen Rovers hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Meelick-Eyrecourt hurlers 20th-century Irish sportsmen