To mark 125 years of the GAA, John Redington tells the intriguing story of Limerick Commercials victory in the first ever All Ireland senior football final, 1887.

From The History of Limerick GAA 1984 and other sources

The Limerick Commercials team that beat Dundalk Young Irelands in the 1887 All-Ireland football final (played on a field known as the "Big Bank" in Clonskeagh C. Dublin on the 29th of April 1888) was: Denis Corbett (goalkeeper and captain), Timothy Fitzgibbon, William Gunning, Richard Breen, John Hyland, Thomas McNamara, William J Spain (winner of an All-Ireland hurling medal with Dublin in 1889), Patrick J Corbett, Michael Slattery, Jeremiah R Kennedy, Michael Casey, James Mulqueen, Malachi O'Brien, Patrick Kelly, Timothy Kennedy, Philip Keating, William Cleary, Robert Normoyle, Patrick S Reeves, Thomas Keating, Thomas McMahon. Others to play for the team in previous rounds were Ned Nicholas, Edward Casey, Richard O'Brien, James Purcell, Thomas McLoughlin and Thomas Lynch. After trailing by 0-3 to 0-1 to the Louthmen's clever hand work at half-time, their fine defence and spirited rushes carried them to victory on a score of 1-4 to 0-3 at the end of a wonderfully scientific, fast and clever game fought in a fine sporting spirit.

On their way to the final, Commercials:
- beat Dowdstown, Meath 3-2 to 0-2 at Elm Park, Dublin. The landlord of Elm Park Lord de Frenche was so impressed by Malachi O'Brien's performance and the magnificent goal he scored from midfield in this nice scientific contest that he invited him to dinner after the game;
- drew with Kilmacow, Kilkenny 1-10 to 1-10 at Clonturk Park, Dublin on a very stormy day which made scientific play impossible;
- beat Kilmacow in a replay played in bright sunshine on a beautifully equipped meadow close to the Glen of Aherlow in Bansha, Co. Tipperary. Despite trailing their seemingly invincible opponents for most of the game, there was no stopping Commercials once they settled down into their ground work and rushes and they emerged easy winners in the end;
- played Templemore, Tipperary in a disputed semi-final;
- beat Templemore 4-8 to 0-4 in the refixed semi-final at Bohermore, near Tipperary Town on the 11th of March 1888.

Commercials travelled by train to Dublin the day before the All-Ireland final. On the day of the match, they travelled by horse tram to Ranelagh Angle where they changed to a second horse tram to reach the field which, at the time, was on the outskirts of a remote Co. Dublin village. (A plaque was unveiled by Mr Sean Kelly, President of the GAA at the entrance to the Beech Hill Estate junction with Beaver Row, Donnybrook.to mark the location of the first All Ireland Football Final the 12th April 2005.)

On their return the following day, the team was met by a group of young men at the station who carried captain Malachi O'Brien shoulder-high through the city to the hotel hosting the first victory reception ever accorded to All-Ireland champions. Congratulations poured in from all sides on the manly way in which they fought through a championship won with undisputed merit.

Of the winning team, Malachi O'Brien, Timothy Fitzgibbon, Michael Casey, William Spain and Denis Corbett are known to have emigrated to USA, John Purcell went to the Philipines and Michael Slattery to Australia. None of the 1887 team is known to have taken part in Commercials' second All-Ireland success in 1896.

Medals were presented to the winners around 1913. They were made of gold, had "1887" on the front and the recipient's name on the back. Malachi O'Brien's medal was bought by then Limerick Leader chairman John McStay in November 2005 for €26,500 at Sothebys of London. The medal, which was on display in the Hunt Museum, Limerick for much of 2008 is believed to be currently in Mr. McStay's private possession in Co. Kildare.

Provenance of Malachi O’Brien’s medal prior to auction: [ FOOTBALL - SPORTING ] Gaelic Football: a 9ct. gold winner's medal from the inaugural All-Ireland football final of 1887 awarded to Malachi O'Brien of Limerick Commercials, the obverse inscribed G.A.A. CENTRAL COUNCIL C'RHIP, 1887, the reverse inscribed THE ALL IRELAND F CHAMPIONSHIP, WON BY LMCK. COMMERCIALS; sold with a copy of a newspaper obituary for Malachi O'Brien (2) The first All-Ireland football final was in 1887 and was won by Limerick (Commercials) who beat Louth (Dundalk Young Irelands). The final was played in a field called The Big Bank at Clonskeagh, Dublin. There was no cup for the Limerick team and the players did not receive their medals until 1912 Having won the inaugural senior football final, Limerick have only tasted the same success on one other occasion (1896) in the proceeding 118 years. Malachi O'Brien was born in Ballinvrina, Emly, where he lived until he was 14 years of age. After a while in Dublin he moved to America where he remained for 32 years, returning for good to his native Ballinvrina from 1929 until his death on 2nd August 1953. he was buried in the little churchyard at Emly. By all accounts O'Brien, known as 'The Little Wonder' due to his slight stature, was the Man of the Match in the 1887 final and on his return to Limerick was carried on the shoulders of ecstatic supporters from the railway station to the hotel for the team's celebration reception. The winners' medals were not presented until 25 years later. In a letter sent from America to the Limerick Commercials Secretary Mr P Gleeson, O'Brien writes: "Dear Mr Gleeson, I had a letter from my brother informing me I was to receive one of the medals for the 1887 Football Championship; indeed I assure you it was one of the surprises of my life after so many years. I had completely forgotten but as a member of that famous old team I will treasure it as a reminder of bygone days and those loyal, true and trusted comrades, who, I believe would be hard to duplicate." Malachi O'Brien, who never played for any other team but the Commercials, had the unique honour of being shouldered off the pitch by the opposing team for his outstanding performance against Kilmacow. Another great game of his was at Limerick Junction where The Little Wonder's performance was talked about in the district for years afterwards. Provenance: by family descent.

A second medal presented to Patrick Reeves was withdrawn in May 2008 at an auction conducted by Mealys of Castlecomer in the Tara Towers Hotel in Dublin when it didn’t reach the reserve price believed to be between €20,000 and €30,000.

Limerick Commercials

Commercials was founded by shop assistants working in the city. Many of its members came from County Limerick and surrounding counties. In the late 19th century, many shopworkers would have come from smallholder families as shopwork was one of the few occupations open to rural Catholics with some education who had no land to inherit. Shopworkers were very active in nationalist and cutural organisations like the IRB, the Gaelic League and the GAA.

Commercials were Limerick's dominant football team in the early days of the GAA and won 16 county senior championships between 1887 and 1927. However, their fortunes waned with the rise of the city's parish-based teams like Treaty Sarsfields, Claughaun and Saint Patrick's, the decline in the city's economy during the 1930s and the clearance of the inner-city to new estates in the suburbs and they had dropped down to junior by the early 1930s. They won a number of City Division junior football titles during the 1950s and appeared in a final for the last time in 1961. However, with no field of their own and no proper underage structure, they struggled to survive until they finally folded up around 1990. In later years, many of their members were Gardai. Commercials colours were green and yellow stripes, played in Mary Immaculate College of Education du