Conference tallis::celt

		Michael Hurley, Active in Boston Irish Organizations

Michael Hurley, a Jamaica Plain resident for 55 years, died Saturday at the
Faulkner Hospital after a brief illness.  He was 89.  Mike was a pipefitter
for the U.S. Government from 1942 to 1969, and worked at the Isabella 
Gardener Museum until 1979.

He was born in Upton, County Cork, Ireland.  After the Easter Rebellion of
1916, he helped organize the Crosspound Volunteer Company of the Irish
Republican Army and also served in Barry's Column of the Third West Cork
Brigade.

Mike immigrated to Boston in 1925. He helped organize Gaelic Football teams,
was Vice President of the Cork Football Club and an officer of the Boston
Gaelic Athletic Association. He organized Charter trips to Ireland, and
returned to his native land 31 times. He assisted on radio's Irish Hour for
twenty years (with Tommy Shields, first on WUNR and then WBOS, I believe).
He was an active member of the Knights of St. Finbarr for 60 years and a
long-standing member of the Holy Name Society of St. Thomas Aquinas Church
in Jamaica Plain.  Mike has been a well-known figure to the Boston Irish
Community for over 60 years.

Mike his survived by his wife Mary E. (Mahoney) and his daughter Marguerite
Gavin, both of Jamaica Plain.  He is also the grandfather of Doreen Shea of
West Roxbury, Michael Gavin of Jamaica Plain, the late Sean Gavin, Mary
Ellen Cameron of Dedham, and the great-grandfather of Heather Elizabeth
Gavin.

Visiting hours are 2-4 and 7-9, Sunday, August 20th and Monday, August 21
at the Brady and Fallon Funeral Home, 10 Tower St., Forest Hills. A funeral
mass will be said in St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Jamaica Plain on Tuesday,
August 22 at 10 a.m. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery, West Roxbury.

"In one of my first visits to Bandon, I noticed the Barrack Square is now
named Allen Square after one of the Manchester Martyrs: Allen, Larkin and 
O'Brien.

I spent some time in those Barracks after the Truce, and until the Civil War
I knew that Square pretty well.

My Grandmother used to tell me she knew William Phillip Allen, whose father
Tom Allen worked in the Bridewell Barracks, North Main Street as a custodian
until he joined the R.I.C. (Royal Irish Constabulary) which was the police
force in Ireland before the Civic Guards. He was stationed in Thurles, Co.
Tipperary.  But for some reason he didn't like the police force, and because
of his great love for Bandon, he resigned and returned to Bandon with his
wife and two year old son, and resumed his old job back in the Bridewell as
a custodian.

When young William Phillip Allen was 14 years old, he went to serve his time
as an apprentice in Suttons Hardware store which was then across the street
from Hickey's Corner. The building is now torn down and the place is used as
a parking lot.

At the age of 16, he immigrated to Manchester, England, and at the age of 18
on November 23, 1867, he was executed as one of the noblehearted three. He
was the first of the three to mount the scaffold, and when he did, he raised
his hands and shouted to the world "God Save Ireland," a phrase that has rung
around the world since and will forever more.

His mother was present at the execution but died shortly after returning to
Bandon. Old Tom lost his job at the Bridewell because of his son's activity
in the Fenians, but he lived for 10 years after, then died a pauper in Bandon
and is buried in Kilbrogan graveyard. The night before he died he became a
convert to the Catholic faith.

The people of Bandon should be very proud of having raised and reared such
a great martyr as William Phillip Allen of the Manchester Martyrs.

It is fifty three years since I left Bandon town, but I still love to wonder
back there."

Here are a few details from the biography of my Grandfather from the 1978
Cork Football Club program.

"Tonight, once again, the Cork Football Club of Boston is proud to honor
one of its long time dedicated members.

This year's choice is Michael Hurley, whose contribution and devotion have
helped to keep Gaelic Sports flourishing in Boston over the years.

Michael, born in Upton, County Cork, played hurling for his native parish,
Knockavilla.  In 1917, he helped organize the Crosspound Volunteer Company
of the Irish Republican Army and in 1920 four men of that Company gave
their lives so that Ireland might be free. He also served in Barry's column
of the Third West Cork Brigade.

Mike immigrated to Boston in 1925 and first played for the Wolfe Tone Hurling
club and shortly after joined the Cork Football Club. After World War II, he 
helped to organize the Emerald Isle Minor, Erin's Hope Junior, and St. Finbarr's
Football Clubs and also served as an officer of the Boston Gaelic Athletic
Association. An active member of the Cork Football Club for over fifty years
and its Vice President for many years, he recruited several new members and
players for the team when immigration was at its peak and competition among
the Gaelic games was so great. Although not a football player himself, but an
ardent observer of the game, he worked diligently for the team's success."

    Michael,
    
    
    Please accept my condolences on the death of your father.  It's
    apparent that he had a great life and provided so much more richness to
    many others' lives - especially yours.
    
    I lost my mother in January and the advice I got went something like
    this: "weep not for your grandfather for he is in heaven now and has
    seen God".
    
    On my Irish side (father) - both grandparents were dead before I
    existed.  In fact, I'll be the first ( I hope ) of the O'Reilly men
    that we know of to live beyond 55 or so.
    
    Take Care,
    
    JO'R

    I have had both the privilege and the pleasure of knowing Mike Hurley
    almost since I came to the U.S. from Cork City in 1948. I first met him
    when I went to try out for a place on the Gaelic Football team he founded
    in 1949, Erin's Hope. We went on in that first year of our existence to
    win the Junior Football championship of Massachusetts led by the
    intense, but dedicated and persistent exhortations of the quiet man from
    Upton!In subsequent years I had continuous contact with Mike through the
    various clubs and organizations in the Boston, particularly the GAA and 
    the Knights and Ladies of St. Finbar, Cork Association, of which Mike
    was a charter member. I think I remember him most for his unswerving
    honesty and dedication in everything he did and for his great love for
    Ireland and his home county, Cork. His passing is a great loss to all
    of us in the Irish scene in Boston but particularly so to members of his
    family whom I also value as my friends. We should, however, remember that
    Mike had a long and fruitful life and died, as he had lived, quietly
    and peacefully, as Shelley said, "To cease upon the midnight with no
    pain."
    
    Ar dheis De to raibh a anam.
    
    Pat Manning