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BILL HOUGH 1892-1976 Pat Sugrue
The upset which Newcastle West caused when they captured the county senior hurling crown in 1917, set in motion a new era for hurling in Limerick Up until this time, the honour of selecting the county teams rested with the reigning county champions. Newcastle West surrendered their claim to the selection of the team and nominated the following panel as the selection committee W Hough, J.Ryan, T.Bridgeman, T.Humpheries and D.Langan.
Willie Hough who was captain of Newcastle West in 1917 was born in Monagea in 1892 and as a youth saw plenty of scientific and robust hurling in his native parish. His father was an outstanding hurler and footballer, who served as a club mentor for many years, has the honour of being the first chairman of the West Limerick Board a position he was elected to in 1902 and held office until 1910. Other influences on the young Bill Hough would have been Dan Begley, the Shanahans, the Kings and other members of the famous Monagea teams of the early 1900's
His early education from 1899 to 1910 was in the local national school where his teachers were, Daniel Kennedy who was principal and secretary of the G. A .A. club and John Ahern whom he was later to succeed as principal in 1918. From Monagea N.S he furthered his education at the De La Salle College in Waterford.
His first recollection of playing with the local side was in 1910 against Ballingarry in Castlemahon. In later years in an interview he stated that the game "was a needle affair and I certainly got my baptism of fire on that occasion. I was entrusted with a seventy, which I dropped in front of the Ballingarry goal; one of our forwards doubled on it and raised a green flag. That was the signal for an altercation and the match ended there. Transport in to those days was scarce and he remembered "walking anything from three to five miles, playing a hard game, walking home again, tired and weary and particularly hungry." In later years while playing with Limerick he once cycled the twenty nine miles to Limerick, played against Tipperary in the Markets Field and cycled back again that evening
Even though there were about 200 pupils attending De La Salle College during his tenure as a student, they found it hard to find 18 good players to form a team. In spite of this draw back he captained their hurling side to their first county senior championship success. As a result of this achievement the students in the college presented him with a special gold medal. The victory brought the college to the attention of the Waterford senior hurling selectors and so for the 1913 Munster hurling championship the Waterford side comprised of eight college players and seven from the county clubs. Bill Hough was their captain and even though they lost to Tipperary (Toomevara Greyhounds), the Waterford star newspaper carried this report on Bill's exploits. 'Never was a team batter captained and never did a commander infuse more hope and spirit by sheer example than Hough. He was here there and everywhere...always on the ball...now playing tig with his opponents and slapping shots into the forwards with a frequency and accuracy that charmed those who could appreciate hurling at its best".
His first teaching appointment was in Baltimore in Cork, and while there he continued his hurling with U.C.C. They were then known as the Collegians and were under the captaincy of another Monagea man, the late Dr Jim Reidy. This side reached the semi final of the senior hurling championship but were defeated by Midleton who went on to taste the sweet success of glory, it is interesting to note that this was to be their only victory at county level in this championship until the advent of the great Midleton teams of the mid-eighties when they were led by one of the finest wielders of a caman Cork has produced and often a thorn In Limericks side ... John Fenton. During his sojurn in Cork, the then chairman of the county board Mr. JJ Walshe asked him if he would play with the rebel county against Limerick but he declined,
In 1914 a vacancy arose in the teaching staff of Monagea N.S with the retirement of one of its teachers, Bill Hough was appointed to fill this vacancy. This was to prove a long relationship with teaching in the parish. In 1918 he 9 was appointed principal a position he hem until he retired from the profession in 1957.
His first major game in the Limerick colours, was in 1915 against Tipperary in Dungarvan, this was to be the beginning of a long and fruitful career with the Limerick side. In the period, which spanned the years 1915 to 1926, he played virtually every championship game with them.
In his recollections of games he participated in, he rated the Munster championship semi-final of 1918 against Tipperary as one of the best games he played in. The first game which was played in the Marker Field in Limerick ended all square on the score 5-3 each. For the replay, which was to be played in the Athletic Grounds in Cork, Limerick in their preparation for this game underwent their first real course of training.
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