Remembering Williamstown’s Olympic hero

By Leo Finnegan

NOT many readers realise that Williamstown parish once had a representative in the Olympic Games. But it did, exactly 100 years ago, in Paris in 1924, when Ireland sent its first ever Olympic team to the games.

The sporting exploits of Jim Kelly, Polredmond, Williamstown are well worth recalling.

Jim was born on November 3, 1899, the son of John and Bridget Kelly (nee Mylott, Kilmore), Polredmond, Williamstown. He had three siblings Mary, John and Ellen.

In his youth, Jim was a good sprinter with Ballinasloe Harriers and won an All-Ireland Senior Cross Country championship with Galway in 1920. In the same year, he emigrated to England and continued his athletics career with Sutton Harriers, concentrating on the steeplechase. He won numerous titles in that country for which he won gold medals, which were, in fact, solid gold. He was selected for the British Olympic Team in 1920 but his wish was to represent Ireland.

When the next Olympic Games, Paris in July, 1924, came around, Ireland had achieved its independence, so there was an opportunity for us to send, for the first time ever, our own team to the games. The Olympic Council of Ireland, though still in its infancy and somewhat short of finances, succeeded in sending quite a large number of participants in the various disciplines. Team Ireland sent 48 competitors, 46 men and two women.

Read more on this in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald