Maurice Davin, one of Tipperary’s greatest sporting icons and first President of the GAA, was born on this day in 1842 in Deerpark, Carrick on Suir.
Davin proved himself to be a hugely talented athlete in many disciplines from a young age. He won rowing races in Clonmel, Tramore, Waterford and Carrick. Indeed, the four-oared racing gig that he won many of these races in, the ‘Cruiskeen Lawn’, is one of the most popular items in our gallery. In athletics, he competed in running, throwing and jumping events before moving on to hammer-throwing. Between 1875-1879, he dominated Irish athletics, winning nine national titles.
Responding to a request from Michael Cusack to help establish a national sporting body for Gaelic games, Davin chaired the founding meeting of the GAA on 1 November 1884 in Thurles and also became its first president. Paul Rouse, history professor at UCD, claims that Davin’s immense popularity in the country was of crucial importance in winning support for the association in its first months.
But he was to be much more than a figurehead. He was an innovative and perceptive administrator. He drafted the constitution which effectively initiated the organisation of the association into parish and county units. He also drafted the early rules for both football and hurling.
He also organised sports in Deerpark, where he had erected a timber stand and changing rooms around a playing area. A number of Tipperary County Finals and two All-Ireland finals (1901 & 1904) were played there.
His genial personality and scrupulous honesty helped ensure his strong popularity in Ireland and abroad. In 1907, a journalist from the New York Post travelled to Deerpark to interview him and many successful American athletes also called to meet the great man when they were competing in Europe.
Davin never married and passed away on 26 January 1927 after a sudden illness. He is buried in Churchtown Graveyard, Co. Waterford, just across the river from where he was born.
Additional Sources:
https://www.dib.ie/biography/davin-maurice-a2428
