Edmond "Ned" Power (20 November 1929 – 15 November 2007) was an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper at senior level for the Waterford county team. Born in

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

, Power first arrived on the inter-county scene as a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

in the minor grade with Waterford. He made his senior debut in the 1957 championship. Power went on to play a key part for Waterford in what has come to be known as a defining era for the county, 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, three

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

medals and one

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 ...

medal. Cheasty represented the

interprovincial team on a number of occasions in the latter part of his career, winning one

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 in 1966. At club level he won one junior championship medal with

Tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inc ...

, having begun his career with

. Following Waterford's exit from the 1966 championship, Power retired from inter-county hurling. Cited by many of his hurling peers as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, Power subsequently became known as one of the most astute and influential hurling coaches of all-time. He coached Tallow teams at every level from juvenile ranks up and was also involved in a similar capacity with Waterford teams at virtually every level.

Playing career

Club

Power played his club hurling with his local club Dungarvan and latterly Tallow where the local club grounds are now named in his honour — Páirc Éamonn de Paor.

Inter-county

After an unsuccessful dual minor career, Power's senior hurling career began in 1957 as Waterford made a long-awaited breakthrough in the championship. A 1–11 to 1–6 defeat of reigning provincial champions

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 * ...

gave Power his first

medal. The subsequent All-Ireland decider saw Kilkenny provide the opposition; however, Power was replaced by

Dick Roche Richard Roche (born 30 March 1947) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 2002 to 2004 and 2007 to 2011 and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2004 to ...

for the 4–10 to 3–12 defeat. After surrendering their provincial title the following year, Waterford recovered in 1959 with Power restored as first-choice goalkeeper. A 3–9 to 2–9 victory over Cork gave Power a second Munster medal. Once again, Waterford subsequently lined out in the championship decider, with Kilkenny providing the opposition once again. The game was another exciting affair and with ninety seconds left in the game Kilkenny were ahead by three points. Just then Séamus Power scored the equalising goal to force a remarkable 1–17 to 5–5 draw. The replay was another great game with both sides giving it their all. Waterford scored three goals in the opening thirty minutes, with Tom Cheasty finding the net twice, to help his side to a 3–12 to 1–10 win. The victory gave Power an

medal. Power added an

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

medal to his collection in 1962 following a 4–12 to 3–9 victory over Tipperary. In 1963 Power won a

medal following a 3–10 to 1–10 defeat of

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 * ...

in a replay of the final. He subsequently won a third Munster medal following an 0–11 to 0–8 victory over three-in-a-row hopefuls Tipperary. For the third successive time, Kilkenny turned out to be Waterford's opponents in the subsequent All-Ireland final. Things weren't going well for Power's side, and at one stage Waterford were eleven points in arrears. The men from the Déise pulled back this deficit to two points, but an expert display of free-taking by

Eddie Keher Edward Peter Keher (; born 14 October 1941) is an Irish former hurler who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Kilkenny county team. Born in Inistioge, County Kilkenny, Keher first played competitive hurling whilst at school in ...

proved the difference as Kilkenny won by 4–17 to 6–8. Power retired from inter-county hurling in 1966.

Post-playing career

In retirement from hurling, Power maintained a keen interest in coaching. A teacher by profession in Scoil Mhuire in

, his coaching methods with

Tallow GAA Tallow GAA () is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Tallow, in west County Waterford, Ireland. The club has won the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship four times, first in 1936 and again in 1980, 1984 and 1985. As of 2010, Tallow ...

saw the club win almost every available county title between 1966 and 1980. Ned Power died on 15 November 2007 after a long illness. His son, journalist Conor Power, is currently writing a book on Ned Power's life, which is due to be launched in November 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Ned 1929 births 2007 deaths Dual players Dungarvan hurlers Dungarvan Gaelic footballers Heads of schools in Ireland Hurling goalkeepers Hurling managers Irish schoolteachers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Tallow hurlers Waterford inter-county hurlers Waterford inter-county Gaelic footballers 20th-century Irish sportsmen