Jackie Power was an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 sportsperson. A renowned dual player

Dual player

Dual player or dual star is a term used in Gaelic games to describe a player who plays both Men's Gaelic football and Hurling or Ladies' Gaelic football and Camogie. The player doesn't necessarily have to play at the same standard in both sports...

, he played both hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 and Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 with his local club Ahane

Ahane GAA

Ahane GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the Ahane, Castleconnell and Montpelier areas of east County Limerick, Republic of Ireland. The club fields teams in both hurling and football and historically is regarded as one of the great clubs of Limerick. Ahane's greatest players...

 and with the Limerick

Limerick GAA

The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...

 senior inter-county teams in both codes from 1935 until 1949. He later played with the Kerry

Kerry GAA

The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...

 senior hurling team.

Early life

Jackie Power was born in Annacotty

Annacotty

Annacotty is a town on the outskirts of Limerick, Ireland, from the centre of the city. It is situated where the old N7 main road between Limerick and Dublin crosses the Mulkear River, upstream of where it flows into the River Shannon....

, County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

 in 1916. He was educated at his local national school where he was introduced to the game of hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 by his teacher. In his teens Power showed promise at athletics, however, he decided to forfeit this interest and concentrate on Gaelic games

Gaelic games

Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...

.

Club

Power played his club hurling and football with his local club in Ahane

Ahane GAA

Ahane GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the Ahane, Castleconnell and Montpelier areas of east County Limerick, Republic of Ireland. The club fields teams in both hurling and football and historically is regarded as one of the great clubs of Limerick. Ahane's greatest players...

 and enjoyed much success. Ahane, spearheaded by Mick Mackey

Mick Mackey

Michael ‘Mick’ Mackey was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the famous Ahane club from 1930 until 1948 and was a member of the Limerick senior inter-county team from 1930 until 1947. Mackey is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game...

, John Mackey

John Mackey (hurler)

John Mackey is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the Limerick senior inter-county team from 1932 until 1947.-Early life:...

 and Power, were the kingpins of Limerick hurling at the time. He won his first senior county title

Limerick Senior Hurling Championship

The Limerick Senior Hurling Championship is an annual club competition between the top Limerick Clubs. The winners of the Limerick Championship qualify to represent their county in the Munster Club Championship and in turn, go on to the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship...

 with the club as a seventeen year-old in 1933. It was the first of seven county championship victories in-a-row for Power and his club. He won an eighth county medal in 1942, the first of another seven county victories in-a-row. Power captured his fifteenth county hurling medal with Ahane in 1955.

Power also enjoyed much success as a member of the Ahane senior football team. He won five senior county football titles in-a-row with Ahane between 1935 and 1939.

Inter-county

Power played junior and senior football with Limerick in the 1930s, however, it was at hurling that he had major success. He made his senior inter-county debut in 1935, winning a Munster Championship

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....

 medal that same year. Limerick were later defeated by Kilkenny

Kilkenny GAA

The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...

 in the All-Ireland final. By 1936 Power was a regular fixture on the team. He won a second Munster title that year before claiming his first All-Ireland

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....

 medal with an emphatic victory over Kilkenny. Four years later in 1940 Power won his third Munster medal which was subsequently converted into a second All-Ireland medal. 1940 was a watershed for Limerick’s hurlers. It was their last Munster and All-Ireland titles for 33 years. Power continued inter-county hurling until 1949, captaining Limerick to a National Hurling League

National Hurling League

The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...

 title in 1947. It was his fourth NHL medal in all, with previous victories in 1936, 1937 and 1938.

He won a Munster Junior Championship medal with Limerick in 1939.

Provincial

Power also lined out with Munster

Munster GAA

The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...

 in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He collected his first Railway Cup medal in his debut year in 1940 as Munster defeated Leinster

Leinster GAA

The Leinster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Leinster. The Leinster Council has been partnered with the European County Board to help develop Gaelic Games in Europe...

. Power later collected five inter-provincial medals in-a-row between 1942 and 1946. He won a seventh and final Railway Cup medal in 1948.

Post-playing career

After retiring from playing Power's work with CIÉ

CIE

-Organizations:* Cambridge International Examinations, an international examination board* Cleveland Institute of Electronics, a private technical and engineering educational institution — the International Commission on Illumination...

, the Irish railway company, caused him to move from Limerick to Tralee. He continued, however, to maintain a keen interest in Gaelic games and became involved with the Austin Stacks

Austin Stacks

Austin Stacks is a hurling and Gaelic football club based in Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland. It has more All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals and GAA All-Stars than any other GAA club in Ireland...

 club in his adopted home.

In 1969 Power’s skill and talent was recognised when he was presented with the Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...

 award for the outstanding hurler of the past. In the early 1970s he became involved as coach to his own native Limerick. Power first tasted success as a coach in 1971 when his team captured the National League title andboth Munster and All-Ireland victory in 1973.

Power also saw his son, Ger Power

Ger Power

Ger Power is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Austin Stack's and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1973 until 1988. Power captained Kerry to the All-Ireland title in 1980.-Early life:Ger Power was born in Annacotty, County...

, win a record eight All-Ireland

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...

 medals with Kerry

Kerry GAA

The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...

’s footballers between 1975 and 1986. His daughter Sheila Power also won an ALL-Ireland medal whilst playing for the Kerry Ladies and his grandson Stephen McNamara

Stephen McNamara

Stephen McNamara is a retired Irish athlete. He played hurling with his local club Éire Óg and with the Clare senior inter-county team in the 1990s and 2000s.He played at corner forward for Clare in the 1995 All Ireland final victory against Offaly...

 played on the Clare

Clare GAA

The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....

 All-Ireland Senior Hurling winning team in 1995.

In 1991 Power’s reputation as one of the all-time greats was recognised yet again when he was the recipient of the All-Time All-Star

GAA All Stars Awards

The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...

 Award.

Jackie Power died on 23 February 1994. In 1996, a life-size bronze statue of him was erected in his native Annacotty.

Teams