Limerick's Betty, 101, enjoys a cuppa with mystery man John Kiely

IN 1933 16-year-old Betty McElholm was nursing a broken heart after a stinging Limerick defeat to Kilkenny, but 85 years later, the 101-year-old finally healed old wounds when Limerick team manager John Kiely walked in her front door.

He sat down at the blazing open fire, across from a picture of the Sacred Heart, a painting of Pope John Paul II and a little wooden wall hanging saying: “Water is a great beverage...taken in the right spirit”.

“He just walked in. I didn’t know who he was,” says a beaming Betty an hour after the visit of the manager of the all-conquering Limerick hurling team this Tuesday.

How long did it take her to realise it was John Kiely, the man of the moment?

“When he was gone, somebody told me,” she laughed.

Despite being caught on the hop by the Galbally man, Betty chatted away.

“He seemed to be quite nice, handsome, a gentleman.”

During the visit, John was completely taken aback by the old shop counter and commodities to the front of Betty’s home. Betty’s mother Mary ran the shop at the front of the premises.

Betty was just three years of age when the family home and shop was burnt to the ground by the Black and Tans in July 1920. When the premises was rebuilt the family moved back in.

“Mam’s shop,” she said. “He said he hadn’t seen anything like that in years.”

Getting back to the match, Betty became worried when Galway were getting back into the game, late in the second half.

“I was afraid Limerick were going to get the works. Galway got their socks up.”

And what about the referee adding on eight minutes extra time?

“I said, hump him anyway!”

While she is a bit disappointed by the “terrible lot of wides” by both teams she feels it was a good team performance by Limerick and it would be unfair to single anyone out above the rest.

Having shed tears in Croke Park on September 1933, when a late goal by Kilkenny’s ‘lovely’ Johnny Dunne blew any chance of a Limerick victory, Betty simply smiled on Sunday after a job well done.

“I was just happy. After the match I had a few sweets, creamy toffees and Scots Clan.

“I don’t know what all the noise is about, they never did me any harm.”