The death occurred on Sunday of Madge Mullan (née Rainey). Madge was the Antrim’s fourth All-Ireland winning captain when she lifted the O’Duffy Cup in Croke Park in 1956.
The Dunloy native first came to the attention of a wider camogie public when she helped St Louis Ballymena win three successive Corn Uan Uladh schools’ senior titles 1949-51, beating St Dominic’s Belfast in each of the finals. Madge scored in each of those finals including 2-2 in the 1951 final when she was captain.
Her older sister Kathleen had featured in each of Antrim’s first three All-Ireland winning teams, 1945-47, and it wasn’t long until the younger Rainey sister won her place on the the Saffron senior side, scoring in the 1950 Ulster final. Antrim had beaten two in a row champions Down in the semi-final and took the provincial crown with a 7-0 to 2-3 victory over Derry.
Over each of the next three seasons Antrim lost All-Ireland finals to the all-conquering Dublin team with the Dunloy forward joined by more of her school-mates and St Dominic’s opponents in the county team.
It all came right in 1956 with Madge as captain following Dunloy’s third Antrim championship the year before. Dublin were going for their ninth title in succession when they met Antrim in a brilliant semi-final in Casement Park.
Agnes Hourigan in The Irish Press the following day described the game as “thrilling stuff from start to stop, with the lead switching from side to side in almost exact rotation ….
The stars of the Antrim team were Moya Forde, Maeve Gilroy, Chris Hughes, Grace Connolly and Madge Rainey.”
The final against Cork in Croke Park did not live up to the standard set by Antrim in Casement Park a month earlier but a goal from the team captain kept them in touch at the break, trailing 3-2 to 3-0. They drew level early in the second half and goals from Chris Hughes and Grace Connolly sealed a 5-3 to 4-2 victory that allowed Madge to collect the O’Duffy Cup.
Antrim made it back to Croke Park for the 1957 final but they lost through a last minute goal to Dublin after a goal from Madge had placed them in a winning position.
Shortly afterwards Madge married Brian Mullan who played for Derry in the 1958 All-Ireland football final. The couple settled in Brian’s native Ballerin and raised their family of seven. All six daughters played camogie for Ballerin, as indeed did their mother for a short period.
Predeceased by her husband and more recently her daughter Collette, Madge died early on Sunday and her requiem Mass will take place this TUESDAY morning at 11am in St Mary’s Ballerin.
Leaba i measc na naomh go raibh aici.