The late great Seánie Duggan from College Road made his debut for the Galway Senior Hurling team in 1943 at the age of twenty-one and went on to play a key role for the county as the last line of defence for more than a decade. Seánie represented the Connacht Interprovincial team at various times throughout his career, winning one Railway Cup medal in 1947. At club level, he won two back-to-back Senior County Championship medals with Liam Mellows in 1945 and 1946. Despite not enjoying the success of a lot of silverware in his hurling career, Seánie is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport’s greatest, including as goalkeeper on a special Team of the Century composed of players to have never won an All-Ireland medal. His brothers, Jimmy and Paddy, also played with distinction for Galway for many years, while their sister, Monica, was a renowned Camogie player. Seánie was a daily year-round swimmer at Blackrock in Salthill for over 40 years until his death at the age of 91 in September 2013, and the Coach Station Building on Forster Street was renamed the Sean Duggan Centre in 2009 as a fitting tribute to the man. In an interview for the St Patrick’s Parish magazine before his death, Seánie recalled one memory of his early days playing hurling:
“While I have many happy memories of my hurling days and Gaelic football days, the one I like best to tell is about the day we played a county match in the Loughrea Hurling Club grounds. It was during the Emergency and petrol was restricted and transport was not readily available. How were our club officers to get the team to Loughrea, some twenty miles away? After several meetings, a friend of one of the hurlers had a turf lorry, which was duly engaged for the task, and with great secrecy, we all met there at the truck walking from the city centre to the appointed place, known to the racing world and all the people of Galway, the famous Ballybrit Racecourse. Time 11 o’clock am. After several detours, trying to avoid all the official checkpoints, we arrived two miles from Loughrea town. This was also to be the pick-up point after the match. Walked to the field, played our game and won, had some refreshments. Money was scarce; sweets, biscuits, and red lemonade. On making our way back to the appointed place word came that our transport was spotted and, to use an expression from the past, our turf lorry was ‘on the run’. So we started to walk back to Galway. On getting to Craughwell we managed to get the truck again, up a side road. All aboard, and home sweet home! Five miles from Galway city our turf lorry broke down. Time 2:30 am. Two of the hurlers that day, Tommy Hughes and Charlie Hughes, had a friend in the area at Carnmore Cross. They knocked up Roddy Grealish and saddled a pony and trap. Some of us got in and made for home. I got out of the trap at the crossroads – now a roundabout – and walked to my home at College Road. Walked in – no lock on the front door – had a cup of tea. That’s just one of my many happy memories of my days on the hurling-field. I met so many nice friends and isn’t that what it is all about. Much would be missing from our way of life without the hurlers and Gaelic footballers.”