Name Peter Solan Role Player | Career end 1950 | |
Died January 1985, South Africa | ||
Peter Solan (born Peter Michael Anthony Solan; 1929 in Rinnaseer, Islandeady) was a Gaelic football corner forward who played for Mayo and was instrumental in Mayo's All-Ireland triumph against Louth in 1950, scoring the first goal in a match that Mayo won by 2 points.
Contents
From Islandeady.ie :
Peter Solan ... Skill and Commitment
Peter Solan was a notable member of Islandeady G.A.A. Club.
His football career started in St. Jarlath's College, Tuam, and in 1947 he helped the Jarlath's team win the All-Ireland senior colleges championship. He scored 2-1 in the final against St. Patrick's College, Armagh. That Jarlath's team included eleven Mayo players as well as S. Gordon, Sean Purcell and C. Canavan from Galway, and T. McHale from Roscommon. He went on to feature prominently with the Mayo senior football team. In this context, the Connaught semi-final in June 1949 is worthy of note. The Connaught Telegraph report on the game observed that 'the safe hands of Peter Solan were never used to better advantage and no blame could be attached to Kelly in the Sligo goal for any of Solan's goals; one in particular ripped into the net with the speed of a hurling ball. Solan's total for the match - five goals and two points - will take some beating.'
Solan was a player of great skill and commitment, and he reached the pinnacle of his career in 1950 when he featured on the Mayo team which won the All Ireland Championship by defeating Louth on a Scoreline of 2-5 to 1-6.
The Mayo team that day were: Billie Durkan (Swinford), John Forde (Ardnaree), Paddy Prendergast (Ballintubber), Sean Flanagan (capt., Ballyhaunis), Peter Quinn (Ardnaree), Henry Dixon (Mayo Abbey), John McAndrew (Bangor-Erris), Pádraic Carney (Swinford), Eamon Mongey (0-2) (Castlebar), Mick Flanagan (1-0) (Castlebar), Billie Kenny (Claremorris), Joe Gilvarry (0-1) (Killala), Mick Mulderrig (0-2) (Ballina), Tom Langan (Ballycastle), Peter Solan (1-0) (Islandeady). Subs: Sean Wynne (Ballina) on for Durkan; Mick Caulfield (Aughamore) on for Kenny; Sean Mulderrig (Ballina) on for Caulfield.
Solan was again involved in the 1951 All-Ireland-winning campaign, helping Mayo all the way to the final. He had high expectations of himself, but although he felt lacking in form for the Connacht final that year against Galway, he still scored 3-1, going on then to score against Kerry in the semi-final. He was named as a sub for the final but did not appear in the team photo. Mayo have played, and lost, seven All-Ireland Finals since.
Other activities
Peter Solan was proud of his Irish heritage, an accomplished traditional dancer and musician on several instruments as well as being fluent in the Irish language. He took his pride and his heritage with him wherever he went, performing in Irish music events in Dublin, Nigeria and South Africa, where he got married to his wife Maureen in April 1959, and wherever his job as a civil engineer took him. Peter and Maureen had 5 children who grew up in Ireland and South Africa.
Peter died in South Africa in January 1985 aged 56, after being diagnosed with cancer a few months earlier.