Tom Creedon (1954 – 28 August 1983) was an Irish sportsperson from

Macroom Macroom (; ) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork (city), Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of war, ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. He played

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 ...

with his local club

and was a member of the

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 * ...

senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1983. Creedon was predominantly a centre back but also played at right corner back and midfield on the Cork team that played in seven Munster finals. He won a

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

medal with Cork in 1980. Creedon also played at inter-provincial level with

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 ...

and was a member of the Munster teams that won the

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 ...

in 1977 and 1981.

Playing career

Club

Creedon played his club football with his local club

and captained Macroom teams at all levels from underage to senior level. He was a member of the Macroom team that won the U14 County Schools Shield in 1967, defeating Youghal in the final. He won Mid-Cork medals at U16 level in 1970, five Minor medals from 1968 to 1972, and two U21 medals in 1972 and 1974. At adult level he won Muskerry Cup medals in 1981 and 1982, an Intermediate Football League medal in 1981 and captained the Macroom team to win the County Intermediate Football Championship in 1982, to return to Senior ranks in 1983. He played his last Championship game with Macroom against St. Nick's in May 1983, with Macroom winning by 1–9 to 0–7.''Macroom G.A.A. Club History 1886–1987'' p. 713

Inter-County Minor & U21

Creedon first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in 1972 as a member of the

Minor Football team that defeated Kerry 2–14 to 1–14 to win the

title and then went on to win the

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, defeating Tyrone by 3–11 to 2–11. Creedon enjoyed further success at U21 level when he won a

winners' medal in 1974 when Cork beat Kerry 3-05 to 1–10 in the Munster Final.

Inter-County Senior

Creedon made his debut for the Cork Seniors in a National League game against

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

in 1975. His first Senior Football Championship game for Cork was against Clare in 1976. Creedon went on to play in nine

finals (including two replays) losing each time to Kerry. Despite this lack of championship success Creedon added a

winners' medal to his collection in 1980.

Inter-Provincial

Creedon represented

at inter-provincial level and was a member of the Munster teams that won the

in 1977 and 1981.

Death

Creedon died on 28 August 1983 (the morning of the 1983 All Ireland semi-final between

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 ...

and Cork), having been seriously injured in an accident involving a runaway van. His death was felt throughout the GAA community in Ireland and robbed Macroom, and Cork, of one of its greatest players.

Legacy

Poems

The noted contemporary Irish poet and academic

Bernard O'Donoghue Bernard O'Donoghue FRSL (born 14 December 1945) is a contemporary Irish poet and academic. Early life and education Bernard O'Donoghue was born on 14 December 1945 in Cullen, County Cork, Ireland, where he lived on a farm. “My father was a te ...

dedicated his poem 'Munster Final' to Creedon and references the player in the second verse.

Tom Creedon Cup

The Tom Creedon Cup was presented by the Creedon family to Macroom GAA,

Muskerry Muskerry () is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry WestCork GAA County Board in memory of Macroom and Cork footballer Tom Creedon who died tragically in 1983. The Tom Creedon Cup competition commenced in 1985. The competition is open to all Intermediate football teams in Cork and is currently run off as a pre-season competition. Fittingly,

are the joint top winners of the Cup having won the competition three times (along with Castletownbere and Mallow).

Tom Creedon Park

GAA acquired lands on the western side of Macroom in the late 1990s. The Club developed these into two playing pitches, a warm-up area and riverside walk and called the grounds 'Tom Creedon Park'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creedon, Tom Macroom Gaelic footballers 1983 deaths Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Munster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers 1954 births