Tug of War

The Tug of War Association was founded in Ireland in 1967 (before that it was known as Black Tug of War). Tug of war is a sport that entails a test of human strength, stamina and team work. In the early days of the sport the strongest able-bodied men of the parish would challenge eight men, from another parish, to a pull. The task was to pull the opposing team beyond a mark on the ground; the team with the best of three pulls was declared the winner. Sitting on the ground could disqualify the team (two cautions were given by the referee). It was active in the parish in the 1940’s, 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Tug of war, like many sports, has had its peaks and troughs and has reached a trough since the late 1980’s in this area.

List of participants in the tug of war teams:

 c. 1947 In Malone’s field, Burrane-Killimer v Doonbeg

c. 1966-68

The above squad were joined in the 1970’s and 1980’s by the following local lads and were able to have two teams. These teams were a major attraction at many festivals, particularly in West Clare, and attracted huge crowds. Wins were procured at the Ennis County Show in 1985, also the local team beat Tulla in the Munster final.

Equal team-weight was a requirement for these opposing teams, whereas earlier teams had unspecified weight per team.

One of the last tug of war competitions was held in O’Connell’s field Burrane, marking the unveiling of the Colleen Bawn Statue (1987). A competition involving many teams, including Killimer, Cree, Kilmurry McMahon, Kilmihil, Quin and Bealaha, made for an exciting event with a large attendance. The referee on the day was Garda Ben O’Sullivan, who later survived an IRA ambush in Adare.  Not to be outdone by the men, the ladies also staged their own tug of war event, on a few occasions.

A pull that caused a stir:

C.1910 – A tug of war competition between the parish of Killimer and Kilmurry McMahon took place in Knock on the pier. Two very determined teams were battling it out, particularly as they had a big following of high-spirited friends. The local team included Siney McCarthy (Tonovoher) and Tom Nugent (Burrane) (b.1877). As both teams had dug in, with no movement either way, the pull lasted so long that the priest felt he had to intervene and decided to cut the rope. The pullers’ faces had practically turned blue!