A perfect day in Riverstown as hundreds attend unveiling of Teddy McCarthy statue

Whenever anybody tries to define Teddy McCarthy, the words ‘unique’ and ‘different’ are never too far away.

Little surprise, therefore, that, in outlining how Teddy gave himself preferential-patient treatment, Dr Con Murphy illustrated the great man’s ability to move straight towards the end goal he had to reach.

Prior to Saturday’s unveiling of a state of Teddy at the newly renamed Páirc Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh in Riverstown, a lunch was held at Vienna Woods Hotel and Dr Con, along with Niall Cahalane and Wexford’s Larry O’Gorman, spoke with MC Tomás Mulcahy.

Dr Con explained how, when Teddy had an ailment, he would visit his clinic. However, rather than patiently sitting in the waiting room, he would skip the queue by standing outside the ‘out’ door and nipping in when the next patient emerged.

That drive to get what he needed is clear to see in the finished article created by Séamus Connolly, based on a picture taken by Echo/Examiner photographer Des Barry during the 1993 National Hurling League final replay against Wexford.

Teddy McCarthy's children Cian, Niall and Sinéad picture with former GAA President Christy Cooney at the unveiling of his statue at the newly renamed Páirc Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh. Picture: Chani Anderson

On Saturday, Harry Cripps of sponsors Heineken Ireland and organising committee member Jack French both spoke, highlighting the efforts involved.

As McCarthy’s marker, Larry O’Gorman serves as the straight man in the statue, his proximity to the ground giving the scale to show just how celestial Teddy’s leap was. On Saturday, O’Gorman jokingly claimed to the home ground that his back was Teddy’s springboard, while Cahalane spoke of trying to encourage Teddy to buy match tickets in advance on his phone – only to discover that his former team-mate was still using an old Nokia.

The laissez-faire attitude to tickets continued right until the end, as Mulcahy regaled those present with his journey to Thurles for what proved to be the last Cork match Teddy saw, the 2023 All-Ireland U20 final.

George Hatchell - a Wexford native long ensconced in Cork - and former Wexford hurler Larry O'Gorman, who features as part of the Teddy McCarthy statue. Picture: Chani Anderson

Having collected his friend in Watergrasshill, the pair chatted until they reached the home of the GAA, where Teddy confessed he didn’t have a means of entry to the game. “I don’t have a ticket either,” Mulcahy replied, but they bided their time until they spotted Frank Murphy, who provided access to the VIP section.

Teddy’s achievement of winning two All-Ireland senior medals in the same year means he is in a VIP section of his own in GAA history and now he has pride of place at Sarsfields’ grounds, renamed in his honour.

Club chairperson Keith Mulcahy felt the day went perfectly.

“Everything went better than planned now, I must say,” he said.

“In fairness to Barry Myers, he organised the statue and his committee had everything arranged so well everything went to plan.

“We were blessed with the weather, thankfully – Teddy was looking down on us!

“We had a great turnout. In fairness, Jarlath Burns arrived later, he came from Mick O’Dwyer’s funeral to be there for a while and so we got some photographs with him, it was lovely to see him there.

“Micheál Martin as well, he gave a great speech. He was obviously at the funeral as well and then he was heading off to the Cork football match.

“It was a lovely day.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin delivers his speech to the packed crowd. Picture: Chani Anderson

Equally, Mulcahy felt the statue itself surpassed expectations.

“I'll be honest, I hadn't seen it until the curtain was pulled off,” he said.

“The resemblance of Teddy is just so, so like him – even the facial expression, it's so accurate.

“In fairness to Séamus Connolly, the sculptor, he got it really, really right. Anyone that was there when it was unveiled, it gave them a shock to see how close it was to him.”

It provides an eternal memory, along with its new address.

Cllr Margaret Macdonald and Sarsfields chairperson Keith Mulcahy at the unveiling. Picture: Chani Anderson

“For me anyway, getting the grounds renamed after him was a huge thing for us as a club,” Mulcahy said.

“He played most of his hurling here and even the football matches were here at the time.

“He spent most of his GAA life here and I think it's only fitting now that we were able to get the place rebuilt and renamed after him. It's a lovely tribute to him.

“This place really never had a name – it was always called ‘The Castle field’ when I was growing up, obviously after the bar next door, or people would say, ‘We’re going down to Riverstown.’

“No, we’ll be able to say that we're going down to Teddy McCarthy Park. It's a lovely thing for his family as well.”

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