Fr Seanie Barry and Fr Pat Barry won All-Irelands in hurling before heading on vocations to Africa
It is a tale of two priests but also two hurlers who won All-Ireland medals with Cork only to give up the chance of further hurling glory to answer a vocation which led them to Africa where for the best part of half a century, they have followed the fortune of the Rebels from afar.
Although from different religious orders, the two men followed similar trajectories – both heading first heading to Nigeria in west Africa and then in Fr Seanie’s case to Nairobi in Kenya where he is now based and Fr Pat to Zambia where he now ministers in a parish in Lusaka. That was against Clare and Cork needed a late, late goal from Justin McCarthy from a long range free to snatch a draw to set them on the road to Croke Park where they found themselves coming up as rank outsiders against a highly experienced Kilkenny team.
“I managed to get back for a lot of the All-Irelands involving Cork afterwards – I was back for the three in-Row in 1976, 77 and 78 and I was here for the double in 1990 but for other games I was in Africa, and it was very hard to follow them because communications were so poor. He made his football debut for Cork as a minor in 1969 and was drafted into the under-21s hurling team the following year as a sub when Cork beat Wexford and a year later he was collecting an under-21s football medal when Cork beat Fermanagh and he went on to play senior football in 1972.
Later that year after captaining Glen Rovers to a county success, Fr Pat headed out to Nigeria and, like Fr Seanie, continued following the fortunes of the Cork hurlers from afar and he was back in 1978 to see them beat Kilkenny as they completed their second three-in-a row.
Fr Pat is equally laudatory of the service, making the point that even at weekends when there are several matches on and impossible to catch all of them, GAAGo allows him to watch some of the other top games at his leisure during the following week. Fr Pat says: “No, I don’t have any regrets I mean I was grateful for getting the one All-Ireland – I had been lucky to get back on the Cork team in 1976 and it was a very good year for me in that I was also captain of the Glen when we won the county that year.
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