Timothy J. Crowley (24 April 1921 – 3 December 1963), also known as Tadhgo Crowley, was an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

player and referee. Throughout his 18-year club career, he played for his hometown club

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

, winning seven

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

titles during a

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

for the club; he also 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 ...

for 'Clon', and had much success in the West Cork Championship. At inter-county level, he

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed the Cork county team to the 1945 All-Ireland Championship title; he had earlier won an

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 ...

title as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

. As well as being a successful captain for club and county, Crowley led

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 ...

to win two

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 ...

s: in 1946 as captain, and in 1948. Towards the end of his career, he served as a referee at club and inter-county levels. Crowley is widely considered one of the best players of his generation, and among the greatest of all time, as well as being regarded by many in the sport as Cork's greatest ever centre-back. A ''

Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' obituary stated that his "high fetching, fearlessness, long kicking and clever anticipation put him in a class apart." Crowley is the youngest of Cork's seven All-Ireland-winning captains and was the first of those to accept the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup (), often referred to as Sam or The Sam, is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competition in the sport of Gaelic fo ...

. He was posthumously named in the centre-back position on the Cork Team of the Century in 1984 and the Cork Team of the Millennium in 2000.

Playing career

Clonakilty

Crowley joined the

club at a young age and was just out of the minor grade when he was added to the club's senior team. His debut championship season culminated with him lining out as midfield partner to Mick Finn in the 1939 county final. Crowley was described in newspaper reports as being one of the more "prominent" Clonakilty players, and he ended the game with his first winners' medal after a 0-07 to 0-05 win over Beara. Crowley had just turned 21 years old when he was appointed club captain and it was in that role that he guided Clonakilty to the 1942 county final against arch rivals of the time

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

. The 1-08 to 1-05 victory gave him a second county championship medal. It was the first of three successive defeats of Fermoy in finals, with Crowley acting as captain on each occasion. Crowley handed the team captaincy to Dessie Cullinane for the 1945 championship. However, four-in-a-row proved beyond Clonakilty after a defeat by Fermoy. Both sides clashed for the fifth consecutive year in the 1946 county final. Crowley, who was described in the ''

Evening Echo ''The Echo'', formerly known as the ''Evening Echo'', is an Irish morning newspaper based in Cork. It is distributed throughout the province of Munster, although it is primarily read in its base city of Cork. The newspaper was founded as a bro ...

'' as being the match winner, secured a fifth championship title after the 1-02 to 0-03 victory. Clonakilty qualified for a sixth successive county final the following year, with Crowley collecting a sixth winners' medal after the 2-05 to 1-04 win over St. Nicholas'. After appearing in six successive county finals, Clonakilty's form took a dip and it was the 1952 decider when they next appeared. The 31-year-old Crowley was now regarded as a veteran of the team and had been switched from centre-back to the full-back line. However, he claimed a seventh championship medal after the 1-04 to 0-04 win over reigning champions Collins. This was his last big occasion with Clonakilty. After missing the 1954 county final defeat by St. Nicholas', Crowley retired from club football after Clonakilty's exit from the 1957 championship.

Cork

Crowley first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team during the 1939 Munster Minor Championship. After scoring two goals on his debut in the semi-final win over

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 ...

, he was switched to midfield for the 8-03 to 0-2 win over

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

in the final. Crowley retained the midfield berth for the rest of the championship and claimed an

medal as partner to

Éamonn Young Edward D. Young (7 August 1921 – 3 August 2007), known as Éamonn Young, was an Irish Gaelic football player, trainer and selector. Throughout a club career that spanned over 25 years, he played for several clubs in County Cork, Cork and exper ...

in the 5-02 to 2-02 defeat of

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 ...

in the final. Success with

at club level resulted in Crowley being selected for the

Cork senior football team The Cork county football team represents Cork in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Sen ...

for the 1943 Munster Championship, while he also took over the

captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...

of the team. After making his debut in a 2-03 to 0-09 draw with Kerry, he later guided Cork to their first Munster Championship title since

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

after a 1-07 to 1-04 defeat of Tipperary in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. After being dropped from the team the following year, Crowley earned a recall in 1945 while once again taking over the captaincy. He also took up the centre-back position and it was from here that he guided Cork to a second Munster Championship title in three years after a 1-11 to 1-06 defeat of Kerry in the

. After giving what has been described as his best performance in the All-Ireland semi-final against

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 ...

, Crowley subsequently captained Cork to their first All-Ireland Championship in 34 years after a 2-05 to 0-07 win over

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

in the 1945 All-Ireland final. He was Cork's third All-Ireland-winning captain and the first to receive the

. Cork surrendered their All-Ireland title at the first hurdle with a defeat by Kerry in the 1946 Munster Championship, before losing back-to-back provincial finals to the same opposition over the following two years. Crowley was switched to the left corner-back position for the 1949 Munster Championship and claimed a third winners' medal after a 3-06 to 0-07 win over Clare in the

. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Cavan was Crowley's last championship game for Cork.

Munster

Crowley's performances for Cork in 1943 earned a call-up to the

team for the 1944 Railway Cup. After being omitted from the team the following year, he was once again selected in 1946 and captained the team to a 3-05 to 1-09 defeat of

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

. The provincial team surrendered their title to

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

. However, Crowley claimed his second Railway Cup title in 1948 after a 4-05 to 2-06 win over Ulster in the final.

Personal life and death

Crowley was born in

West Cork West Cork () is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbere, Clonakilty, Du ...

, the youngest of eight children born to John and Julia Crowley (née Twohig). After his education he worked as a van driver. Crowley married Sheila Crowley and they had two sons. Crowley died at his home in Clonakilty on 3 December 1963, after suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

while attending the weekly meeting of the Clonakilty Coursing Club. At just 42-years-old he was the third member of the 1945 All-Ireland-winning team to die.

Honours

;Clonakilty *

Cork Senior Football Championship The Cork Premier Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier Senior Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSFC) is an annual club Gaelic football competition organised by t ...

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

(c),

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

(c),

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

(c),

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

;Cork *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

(c),

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

;Munster *

: 1946 (c), 1948

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, Tadhgo 1921 births 1963 deaths Clonakilty Gaelic footballers Clonakilty hurlers Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Cork inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers All-Ireland–winning captains (football) Gaelic football referees 20th-century Irish sportsmen