Mick Mackey and the Throw-in

Tommy Doyle was a renowned Tipperary hurler in the late thirties, forties and early fifties, winning five All-Ireland senior medals. The following is an extract from a book produced in his honour, A Lifetime in Hurling:

"What was the best club game in which you have ever played?" is a question I was often asked. I should say the most memorable, from every point of view, was that between Thurles Sarsfields and Ahane at Newport in May, 1947. To beat Ahane we knew we had to pull something special out of the bag. Of course any team that included the Mackeys had to be respected. As the parish priest, Fr.Ryan, threw in the ball to start the game, Mick Mackey called out: "Take it easy, boys, this is not the real throw-in". Some of the less experienced players on our team, falling for the gambit, stood and stared as Mick snapped up the ball and raced through unchallenged for the opening point.