The MacEgan, Egan, Eagan, Agin(s) & Keegan Families

© 1998-2008 Clann MacAodhagain

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Section 7

Egans Of Today

WHAT ARE THE EGANS UP TO NOW ?

Richard Egan whose grandfather emigrated to the U.S. from Limerick in the 1850s was a well known screen actor in the late 1950s and early 1960's he is now concentrating on the stage.

Garda John Egan of Kerry had played in seven All-Ireland and Gaelic Football finals— 1975/76/78/79/80/81 and 1982. He has to his credit 5 All-Ireland medals and was captain of the team defeated by Offaly in 1982. He still plays.

Michael J. Egan is still the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Kevin Keegan has just retired having led his team Newcastle, out of the 2nd Division English soccer. The man thought by many to be the greatest British footballer of the last decade will probably have his hands full fighting off the offers of manager and trainer for so many clubs seeking promotion.

 

GREAT LOSS TO LAWN TENNIS

Raymond Egan—An appreciation by C. A. Kemp

Lawn Tennis in Ireland has lost a good friend in Raymond Egan, and so have I. I use the term Lawn Tennis advisedly because this was the game he and I learned to play. Tennis was a game played at Hampton Court, Queens Club, London, and the Manchester Racquets Club, although we knew that there was a court at the Earl of Iveagh's house in Stephen's Green and one on Lambay Island.

My earliest recollection of Raymond Egan was of being involved in trial matches for a Leinster schools team to play against Ulster which was the only Interprovincial match in those days. This was about 1932 and Raymond and his older brother, Edward, and Roy Brown were the players I remember. Both resplendent in St. Gerard's School blazers and indeed during all his playing career Raymond was always immaculately dressed on the court. When Bunny Austin introduced shorts at Wimbledon many men changed to them and a lot of us wore shapeless hockey or football shorts, before properly cut tennis shorts came on the market.

Raymond remained faithful to long white cricket trousers all his life and indeed continued to wear long-sleeved cricket shirts and long-sleeved pullovers as well. Even on the hottest day in summer, you knew you had not got him worried until you managed to make him shed his pullover and even then (like Jack Crawford, the great Australian player) Raymond would play for some time with the shirt sleeves buttoned at the wrist. When he rolled up his sleeves you felt you were in with a chance of beating him.

Our tennis lives ran on parallel lines. We were the same age and were in junior tournaments together. At that time there were only two Fitzwilliam and Lansdowne. Raymond won the Irish Junior Championship at Fitzwilliam in 1933. I invariably lost to Raymond Egan or Roy Brown in the semi-final and they would meet in the final.

He beat me to the Irish Davis Cup team by eight years, being selected against Italy at home in 1938 and against Yugoslavia away in 1939, whereas my first appearance was against Sweden in 1946. We played Sweden in Stockholm and lost 5-0, but we both took Torsten Johannson to five sets and Sweden went on to win the European zone. An interesting prelude to the match took place when we were asked if we would like to play a doubles with King Gustaf, who was then over 80 years of age. Raymond and I played the King and George McVeagh and after one set the King said he would like to play a little more. Afterwards we were told that it was the first time for a long time that the King had played outdoors and more than one set.

In 1947 Ireland lost to Yugoslavia in Dublin, 3-2. Raymond and I losing the doubles match to Mitic and Pallada and Yugoslavia reached the final of the European zone that year. I partnered Raymond in Davis Cup matches only, so I knew him better as an opponent than as a partner. Father Jim O'Connell in a most moving tribute to him at his funeral, spoke of his absolute integrity. This was very apparent on the court as well as in his ordinary daily life. I think a by-product of this integrity was his inmate courtesy to his opponents, his partners, the umpire, the linesmen and the ballboys. His regular partner in the home tournaments in the Dublin League and also at Wimbledon was Eustace Fannin, and they were ideally suited because they were both absolute gentlemen on the court. Raymond won the Irish Singles Championship in 1940 and 1943 and he and Eustace Fannin won the men's doubles for four sucessive years from 1940 - 1943 .

I played against him in the closing stages of many tournaments and I suppose it would be fair to say that he usually won the hardcourts and I usually won on grass.

There were, of course, some exceptions. Raymond was a very precise, meticulous player, with ground strokes hit fairly flat but with enough top-spin to give good control. His volleying and especially his overhead was very consistent and accurate and he made his winners with placements rather than pace.

In 1939 at Wimbledon Raymond played W. C. Choy, the Chinese Davis Cup player and was only beaten in five sets and in the men's doubles, he and Eustace Fannin played Charlie Hare and Frank Wilde, the British Davis Cup pair, who went on to reach the final.

In 1946 Raymond was beaten by Pallada of Yugoslavia in the singles and he and Frank Peard lost to Beleli and Pelizza of France in the doubles, in 1947 he had a five set battle in the singles with a good English player called Michelmore and he and Eustace Fannin were beaten again in five sets by an English pair, Goldham and Weatherall.

In International matches (other than Davis Cup) Raymond and I were on two winning teams together against England, when we beat them in 1947 at Lansdowne and in 1949 at Belfast Boat Club. In the latter match Raymond beat Boxter and Hough 3 sets to 1.

In his usual modest manner, many years later Raymond used to say that Hough was never heard of again after that match. An interesting feature of the lrish team in the late forties is that all of us, both men and women, lived in the same postal district of Dublin, i.e. Ballsbridge. In 1950 I left Dublin and did not see Raymond so often but came back to live in Dublin in 1962, by which time both of us had got married.

Our respective wives became great friends and I saw a great deal more of Raymond off the court. By this time we had both stopped playing competitively. Raymond retained his great interest and love for the game and was a constant spectator at all tournaments in the Dublin area. He loved watching the junior tournaments and must have got a lot of pleasure in watching his own children, all of whom were good players, if not quite reaching his own high standard. All the qualities he had shown on a tennis court were evident in his daily life, integrity, kindness and courtesy. He was a gentleman and yet had very strong opinions and convictions which he was not afraid to voice when the need arose. During the last few years of his life, when he suffered great pain with amazing stoicism, l had the same experience as Fr. Jim O'Connell when visiting Raymond. I used to come away from the hospital or his home feeling better for having seen him and talked with him.

To his devoted wife, Pam, and his family all we can say is that we are better for having known him.

C. A. KEMP

2lst February, l984

 

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