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The extraordinary life of Maurice Davin

His name is immortalised in the Davin Stand at Croke Park and when you look at the roll call of f...
Newstalk
Newstalk

20.55 10 Apr 2018


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The extraordinary life of Maur...

The extraordinary life of Maurice Davin

Newstalk
Newstalk

20.55 10 Apr 2018


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His name is immortalised in the Davin Stand at Croke Park and when you look at the roll call of former Gaelic Athletic Association presidents, his name is first to appear.

But the significance of Maurice Davin goes far beyond just the confines of GAA within the Irish sporting context.

Before serving as GAA president from 1884 to 1887 and then again from 1888 to 1889, the Tipperary native excelled at a vast array of sports.

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To learn more about the man, the athlete and the sporting administrator, we were joined by UCD professor of Irish history and sports history Paul Rouse for the latest in his series of extraordinary Irish sporting figures.

He details Davin's prowess as a rower and then as a boxer where he struggled to find viable opponents before being almost taunted out of retirement after reading an article and then coming back to shine at athletics.

Rouse also underlined how important Davin was to the early GAA especially in regards to the establishment of rules and given how contrasting he was as a character to fellow GAA pioneer Michael Cusack, detailed how the two had an excellent relationship.   

You can watch the full chat on YouTube above or listen in on the podcast player. 

The extraordinary life of Maurice Davin

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