Cherishing memories of Waterford sports legend Alfie Hale

Christmas get-togethers in our family inevitably invoke nostalgia for the wonderful influences on our lives during our formative years growing up in Kingsmeadow. The memory of Alfie Hale and the great Blues team of the late sixties and early seventies is one such influence I recall with great enthusiasm.

So, it was great to learn that ‘True Blue: The Alfie Hale Story’, by Dermot Keyes, was published recently, invoking as it does wonderful memories of my teenage years.

These were the glory years for the Blues and what joy we had as kids following that great team with Alfie the star.

Before the book was published, Alfie approached me after Mass one Sunday morning and said he wanted to do something to support the parish. He suggested that he would give a talk in the parish centre and donate the proceeds to our church. He would share his story with our community. This was typical of Alfie, always willing to help out, with such a wonderful generosity of spirit.

I was absolutely delighted that Alfie had so generously offered his time and talent to help build up the community here in the St Joseph and St Benildus Parish. I knew instinctively that it would be a very successful venture as Alfie is a brilliant speaker and the story of his remarkable career in Irish and British football would be of interest to his many fans.

Dermot Keyes suggested that the format of the evening should follow an interview style: Dermot posing questions to Alfie on different highlights of his career. So, on October 9, Dermot sat down with Alfie in our parish centre to chat about his remarkable career as one of the League of Ireland’s greatest ever players, winning six League of Ireland titles and netting 153 goals. Alfie also managed Waterford FC, Kilkenny City and Cobh Ramblers.

A great crowd turned up and for over 90 minutes Alfie had the audience in the palm of his hand. He is a brilliant raconteur and his behind-the-scenes stories of his years as a professional footballer in England and of the glory years of the Blues enthralled us. Charisma and positivity simply oozed from him, and people found him to be so inspirational. The warmth of his personality, his humility and his willingness to connect with people from all walks of life endeared him to everyone present.

I would like to share my own memories of Alfie.

As a teenager, I was absolutely enthralled with Alfie as a footballer. I was an avid fan of the great Blues team of the sixties and seventies. As kids we were so excited by the football produced by the famous team; it was thrilling to watch… and Alfie, of course, the goal-scorer-in-chief, who could outjump centre-backs much taller than himself and head home incredible goals.

I did not get an opportunity to meet my boyhood hero until much later. I was a student in Maynooth in the late seventies and during the long summer holidays I joined the training sessions with the De La Salle Squash Club in the Tramore sandhills on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Alfie led the training sessions. I wasn’t part of the club and didn’t really know any of the players. But Alfie made me feel very welcome and introduced me to the club members. He encouraged me at every session. I felt 10 feet tall meeting the hero from my youth, who made me feel so included.

But I was expected to train as hard as the rest of the club members. I was given no quarter. People talk about the legendary Ger Loughnane and the intensity of his training sessions with the Clare team, leading to Clare’s famous All-Ireland win in 1995 (their first since 1914). Well, the Loughnane boot camp had nothing on Alfie’s sessions in the sandhills. I was the fittest seminarian in Ireland heading back to Maynooth in September.

But the outstanding memory of those wonderful summer evenings long ago with Alfie was his ability to create a great spirit of camaraderie and encourage even the most sluggish of us (including myself). It is a wonderful gift to have, and reading the biography, it is evident that throughout his managerial career with Waterford, Kilkenny City, and Cobh Ramblers, he always instilled a strong team spirit and was very encouraging of young players, promoting local talent at every opportunity.

Alfie was never afraid to stand up for his values, holding true to what he believed in. When he went to England first, after signing for Aston Villa, he was very surprised to discover that Sunday in Birmingham was effectively car-wash day. In other words, worship at Sunday Mass or service was not a part of the culture. Nevertheless, Alfie always remained faithful to his Church and his faith and even when faced with incredulity from his teammates at such a young age, he was undaunted: “I am not a deeply religious man in terms of saying the rosary or anything like that, but I’ve always had great faith in the man above.” 

A man deeply committed to his wife, Cis, and family, Alfie embodies great Christian values and witnesses to what is best in all Waterford citizens.