Martin and Jo Semple visit famous Thurles grave of Tipperary hurling legend

Thurles native Martin Semple, son the legendary Tipperary GAA hurler Tom Semple, was home in the Cathedral Town from the US recently for the Remembrance Sunday celebrations at St Mary’s International Garden of Remembrance.

Martin and his wife Jo are regular visitors to the town, and they continue to retain huge interest in all things going on in the locality.

They visited the grave of Tom Semple and laid a wreath at the Remembrance Sunday commemoration while also availing of the opportunity to catch up with neighbours and friends in Tipperary.

Martin, who is an attorney at law in the US and his wife Jo, are pictured at the grave of Tom Semple, who is forever remembered in Tipperary as a legendary GAA figure and after whom iconic Semple Stadium is named.

Tom Semple won three All-Ireland medals, captaining Tipperary to two of those titles in 1906 and 1908.

He also won four Munster senior hurling titles and six county championships with the old Thurles Blues old – now Thurles Sarsfields.

Tom Semple was born in Drombane in 1879 and having received a limited education at his local national school he found getting work a difficult prospect.

At the age of 16 he left his native area and moved to Thurles where he was to grow into the legendary figure he is remembered as.

He worked as a guardsman with the Great Southern Railway and was a very well known figure in Thurles and much further afield – fame on and off the field followed him.

Having retired from playing Tom Semple maintained a keen interest in the development of Gaelic Games and in particular hurling.

Remember the GAA was still in its infancy and required men of character and standing such as Tom Semple to help it to prosper.

In 1910 he and others organised a committee which purchased the showgrounds in Thurles in an effort to develop a hurling playing field there.

This later became known as Thurles Sportsfield and was regarded as one of the best surfaces for hurling in Ireland. In 1971 it was renamed Semple Stadium in his honour. The stadium is also lovingly referred to as Tom Semple’s field.

Tom Semple also held the post of Chairman of the Tipperary County Board and represented the Tipperary on the Munster Council and Central Council.

He also served as Treasurer of the Central Council for a time. During the War of Independence it was said that Tom played an important role for Republicans as he organized dispatches via his position with the Great Southern and Western Railway in Thurles.

Tom Semple died on 11 April 1943 and his grave is much visited in St Mary’s Church grounds in Thurles where there is also a monument to the man who helped put Thurles, the birthplace of the GAA, on the map.