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Oral History

Mick Spain

Mick Spain heard a lot of stories about Offaly’s hurling traditions as a young boy and it fed his desire to create some history of his own. After playing informally when he was growing up he joined clubs such as Drumcullen, Mountrath and Birr. He was soon on the county minor, junior and senior teams. When time allowed he switched his attentions to Drumcullen and their championship-winning efforts. Mick later became a selector with the Offaly team, and was part of the management set-up as the county claimed an All-Ireland hurling title in 1981. He describes putting the building blocks in place for this achievement, and recalls the small breakthroughs that were made along the way. There was further All-Ireland success in 1985 and 1994, and Mick has unique memories of each of these triumphs. He also dedicated his time to administrative and county work, and managed to referee the odd game as well. His significant contribution to the Association was the result of hard work, honesty, understanding, good planning and an appreciation of the value of never taking anything too seriously.