Pierce ‘Piery’ Butler R.I.P.

          I am sure that many of us meet someone who is much older that you are when you were very young, maybe before you went to school or shortly after starting school and you remained friends with that person for the remainder of your life.

          That person could be the local Teacher, Priest or Garda. It could be the local Shop Keeper, the Post Office Master or maybe someone working in the local village.

One person that I got to know in my youth was Pierce Butler or Piery as he was known to everyone far and wide.

Piery was the driver of what was known as the Small Bus to Saint Mary’s Touraneena National School when I entered the school back in September 1978. Piery’s Bus and Ned O’Grady’s bus after Piery gave up driving was the small bus as it was a privately owned mini bus while the second bus that collected pupils from around the area to bring them to school was one of the yellow CIE school Buses with a white stripe through it which many will remember.

Piery’s first stop at my home was my second day in school having got a lift to school on my first day. I was one of the first on the bus each morning and the front seat beside Piery was always reserved for me, as it was when Ned O’Grady took over.

It was after getting to know Piery on the school run that I found out that both Piery and myself had a common interest the G.A.A. and would often meet him at games on a Sunday afternoon when the local Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s G.A.A. Club were in action.

By the early 80’s Piery had retired as the school bus driver but this did not mean that my friendship with Piery was at an end, far from it in fact.

In 1981 the County Junior Football Championship ran late in Waterford, and the County Final between Sliabh gCua and Tramore was held over until the spring of the following year.

But when it was played I was not able to attend the game as I was a patient in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin (Dublin) for much of 1982 owing to what for me at the time was major surgery on my hip.

As is always the case in the area after the Club win’s a County Final the Cup visits the local school in the days that follow and all the pupils get to drink out of the cup.

Just because I was away at the time they visited the school did not mean that I missed out, because in May of that year when I was allowed home for a short few weeks, Piery and other members of the Club Committee and players paid a visit to the house one Friday evening with the cup and the customary bottle of Orange that was got in one of the local pubs.

Like me Piery’s interest in the G.A.A. began at an early age. Piery once told me that his first memory of the G.A.A. was going to Mickey Hickey’s field in Cahernaleague on the crossbar of his neighbour Ned Lonergan’s bike in around 1930.

He was one of a number of people left in the Parish of Touraneena that could remember Sliabh gCua win a first County Final back in 1936 beating Fenor after a replay in the Junior Football decider in Dungarvan, and going to Green’s Restaurant in the town for Ham sandwiches and from there to Maurice Flynn’s pub in the Square where the players were provided with some oranges by Maurice who was a native of Knockmeal.

Piery also told me about the power the Catholic Church had within the G.A.A. in times past. In 1944 a new Curate Fr George McDonnell was appointed to the Parish of Touraneena and The Nire by the then Bishop Daniel Cohalan.

 One of the first things that Fr McDonnell did was to set up a hurling club in the Touraneena side of the Parish with himself named as Chairman of the newly formed club.

The club were drawn to play against Modeligo in the first round of the championship and to help prepare the team for the game a four team tournament was organised at Hanrahan’s Field in Ballinamult. Fourmilewater were drawn to play Modeligo in one semi final and Ballinamult were drawn against Newcastle.

Ballinamult and Fourmilewater won the two games and were set to contest the final which was to be played in a field in Knockmeal, which ended in a draw, and when the game was replayed Fr. McDonnell was not around on the day for some reason.

The players were told to head to Hanrahan’s Bar after the game where they would be provided with a drink, which Fr. McDonnell found out about.

Fr. McDonnell called a club meeting for the following Wednesday evening in one of the school’s in Touraneena for which he was late to attend, presumably on purpose.

On entering the room Fr. McDonnell took his position of Chair and handed the secretary of the club Danny Kiely a letter and instructed him to read it out. In the letter wrote by Fr. McDonnell he said he did not set up a hurling club in the Parish to make alcoholics out of the young men of the Parish. He resigned his position of Chairman and dissolved the club. But Fr. McDonnell was not to get all his own way as the following year a new hurling section was added to the already existing football club in the parish.

In his day Piery played on many of the local teams down the years. In 1951 he helped the parish win a Junior Hurling Shield Final where he played alongside his brother Ned, Tomás O’Mara, John Power, Larry Kiely, Sean Whelan, Paddy Hearne, Johnny Kiely and Philip O’Mara.

In ’52 he was part of the Saint Mary’s side which contested the Junior Western Final against Ballyduff in Cappoquin having beaten Fourmilewater and Colligan to reach the final. For the final Piery often remembered that the club did not have enough Hurley’s to take part in the game so he and Jimmy Lonergan had to visit a member of the Affane Club to borrow some hurleys to play.

A year on Piery was part of the Sliabh gCua Junior Football team that reached the Western League Final against Ballyduff which was to take place in February 1954.

Piery recalled that at the time the Ballyduff Club were very strong in both hurling and football and that they had little chance of winning and a group of players decided after Sunday mass the day of the game not to travel to play the game.

Two days later the Club received a letter from the Western Board apologising for not informing the club that the field was not playable on the Sunday due to flooding and that the game was cancelled, and informing the club that it was re-fixed for Saint Patrick’s Day in Ballyduff.

This time Sliabh gCua did travel and won the game 0-2 to no score. On the Sliabh gCua team that day along with Piery were amongst others Pascal Power, Fr. Jim Kiely, Sean Whelan, Austin Barron, Jimmy McGrath, Mick Kiely, Tommy Hickey, Jimmy Lonergan and Johnny Kiely most of whom preceded Piery.

 After calling time on his playing time with the club, Piery just like many others remained very active within the G.A.A. working on the administration side of things.

For a number of year’s he served as Chairman of the Current Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s Club which later this year celebrates 50 years in existence and in more recent years he was made a Vice President and then President of the Club.

In recent years the club has won its share of western and county titles in Hurling and Football and on each occasion before the presentation was made to the captain, such is the esteem Piery was held within the club he was brought to the centre of the stand to stand alongside the captain for the presentation, something no doubt Piery would be very proud to do.

While Piery’s health went downhill in the last few weeks having celebrated his 93 birthday some weeks back, it is hard to imagine Piery not attending games any longer when Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s are playing.

But while he will not be present physically at the games, there is no doubt that he will be looking down on the players and the club wishing the club every success when it comes to games or in different events that it stages.

'Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam'