Plassey’s Gaels

Passion and history unite in this account of Gaelic games at the University of Limerick and its predecessors on the Plassey campus, the National College of Physical Education, Thomond College of Education and the National Institute of Higher Education. It is a story of forging an identity in challenging institutional and sporting contexts. The Plassey clubs were clearly different from community-based GAA clubs but at their foundations were the Association’s traditional spirit and ethos. The strength of the UL club is testament to the rich history that it has inherited. Plassey’s Gaels have known glory and failure, joy and heartbreak. The brilliant Thomond team of 1977 - 78 won All-Ireland club football honours. Among the club’s sweetest victories was the Fitzgibbon Cup hurling triumph of 1989, having previously been denied access to the premier intervarsity competitions. There have been emotive boardroom wrangles and off-field controversies. Some of the finest players of the modern era have the worn the jerseys of NCPE, Thomond, NIHE and UL, including Pat Spillane, Brian Mullins, Fiona O'Driscoll and Seamus Hickey. The campus has evolved dramatically over the last forty years but the collegial experience has remained constant and essentially undiluted. It is about love of the games, camaraderie and friendship.