Dr Eamonn O Sullivan

Dr. Eamonn pioneers the building of Fitzgerald Stadium


by Weeshie Fogarty

 Jack o Keeffe is the Patron of the Dr. Crokes GAA club, Killarney and follows in the footsteps of the very first Patron of that club, the illustrious-Dr Croke. Jack was himself an outstanding footballer in his youth and he won an All Ireland Minor with Kerry away back in 1931. He has served the famed Killarney club in many capacities, including chairman. He also served as chairman of the East Kerry Board and the local Dick Fitzgerald team.

I interviewed Jack at his home in Killarney in February  2001, approaching his 90th year he was blessed with a most remarkable memory, crystal clears and his recollections of Eamon were as if only recently. Jack o Keeffe is the only surviving member of the original committee set up in November 14th 1930 which arrived at the momentous decision to build a Memorial Stadium to commemorate the then recently deceased legendary Kerry footballer Dick Fitzgerald. He had died in September 1930 and he had been chairman and captain of his club Dr. Crokes.

It is very l likely that Eamon himself decided on the particular field which would be purchased to develop the stadium. Being RMS of the Killarney mental hospital which overlooks the field I think he would often look out the hospital windows and visualized what could be developed on the land which lay before him. I firmly believe that Eamon could see a little further than most, and saying that looking out from that hospital windows all those years ago he saw well past the thirties and forties and must have seen what could be done with the field.

When the select committee was set up by the Dr. Croke club following Dick Fitzgerald's death he spearheaded the purchase of that field at the then colossal amount of £750. The field was owned by a Dan Courtney and Eamon with Eugene o Sullivan and John Clifford carried out prolonged negotiations to secure ownership of the land. He was involved in the setting up of committees at home, in Dublin and in America to help advance the cause of the project and of course to rise funds also. He was also a member of the Munster council and led a deputation from the Crokes and on his proposition seconded by a Mr Considine of Clare it was decided to give £400 to the project.

Eamon's position as RMS in the Mental hospital played a huge part in the development of the Stadium. Occupation therapy in those hospitals had been unheard of up till then. He sought a and gained permission at a meeting of the Killarney Mental Hospital Committee in Marsh 1933 allowing the patients to work on developing a field, not the property of the committee. There was some condemnation the local press of Eamon's project nevertheless he was in no doubt that the work was of great therapeutic value to the patients. And he added,"it was the very first undertaking of the subsequently developed Occupational Therapy Department of the hospital and could be described as its Opus Magnum". The Minister of Local Government in a letter to the hospital said he was pleased to learn the work has the beneficial effects on the health of the patients and a number of cures had resulted there from.

It was only fitting that the Pavilion and Stand erected in the seventies should have been named in honour of Dr. Eamon. This development was officially opened by Eamon's son Anthony in 1977. I can tell you Weeshie that everyone involved in the development of the Stadium were all in agreement that his contribution was massive. He always told us of the great help that came from the staff of the Mental Hospital, in particular-Denso Hurley, Myo Murphy, and Tim o Donoghue and of course the patients without whom nothing could have been achieved. Remember it was nearly all manual work at that period of our history.

Many thought at the time that he was too ambitious, but as we look back from to-day we now appreciate that he could see away further into the future than any of us. We can see all club colors in action in the Stadium, the black and amber, the green and white and of course the Kerry colors the green and gold, all in full view with adequate accommodation for spectators.

Eamon had a fine stature, and was well endowed with ability. He fully controlled the fracas that would happen at times, he didn't demand respect but he got it by reason of ability and his foresight. He did that but did it quietly. He did not force his way, people might have thought that he did, that he was a kind of a dictator in his own way, but actually it was always done quietly. You might have disagreed with him, but you always felt that he was always more right than what you were.

I would say that it would have been impossible without Dr. Eamon to have accomplished the building of that magnificent Stadium we have to-day, and remember an All Ireland senior hurling was played there in 1937 with an attendance of over 43,000 people. And the Stadium was only opened the previous year. Dr. Eamon o Sullivan was truly a remarkable person, a man before his time in my opinion and I was privileged to have known him and worked with him in that major project.

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