Nicky Rackard

(Nicholas) "Nickey" Rackard (28 April, 1922 - 10 April, 1976) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling for Wexford in the 1950s and is regarded as one of the all-time greatest players of the game.

Nickey Rackard was born in Killanne, County Wexford on April 28, 1922. The eldest of five boys his father Bob had planned for him to play cricket but his talent was for Gaelic football and hurling. Rackard was educated at St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny, a virtual hurling academy. It was here that his hurling skills were noticed, however, it seemed that his greatest chance for success would be as a footballer as Wexford's hurling was in the doldrums when Rackard made his debut. He made his senior hurling debut as a midfielder and centre forward but later moved to full forward where he became something of a scoring machine. To this day Rackard holds the record for the highest score in a game of hurling when in the 1954 All-Ireland semi-final he scored 7 goals and 7 points against Antrim. Earlier in that year's championship he had scored a credible 5-5 against Dublin in the Leinster Final.

Unlike modern hurling, where the emphasis is on point scoring, past hurling matches were higher scoring in terms of goals due to inferior pitch quality and equipment, as often the case the sliotar would be bundled over the line during a goal mouth melee. Rackard was also the highest scorer in the 1955 and 1956 hurling seasons, notching up a huge 35 goals and 50 points in 1956. He was 32 when Wexford lost the 1954 All-Ireland final to Cork and it was felt he would retire from the game. Rackard, however, stayed on and collected two precious All-Ireland medals in 1955 and 1956, along with his brothers Bobby, Billy and Jimmy. After remaining on the team it was fitting that Rackard scored the winning goal in the 1956 final, confirming his status as one of the greatest players of all-time. Rackards' personal life away from the hurling pitch was a deeply troubled one, marred by excessive drinking. His problems with alcohol began while he was studying to be a veterinary surgeon in Dublin, which took him over eight years to complete, due to his sporting commitments. In 1951 he suddenly gave up alcohol in a pledge not to drink again after a friend, who was a priest, died. When Wexford celebrated All-Ireland success in 1955 and 1956 Rackard was a non-drinker. During a visit to New York in 1957, however, Rackard began drinking again and the habit grew progressively worse over the next 12 years. In 1965, then a serious alcoholic, he had his first period of hospitalisation to treat the illness. At that stage he was drinking daily, however, the treatment didn't work. He finally quit by 1970 after joining Alcoholics Anonymous. When Rackard quit drink for the final time he was practically broke. He pieced his life together again, rebuilt his veterinary practice, and indulged his passion for horses, enjoying wins in point-to-points and other major race events.

With the AA he travelled the country helping people who were troubled by alcohol. In February, 1974 Rackard noticed lumps on his neck which he had later removed. Later that year he was told he needed another operation and was said to be making good progress. In 1975 he spoke out in the Irish Press newspaper about his alcoholism, becoming one of the first people to break the taboo of alcoholism in Ireland. Shortly after this it was revealed that the cancer that had previously troubled him had unfortunately not been completely annihilated and had returned. Rackard died at St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin in 1976 and was universally mourned by the GAA community throughout Ireland.

Nickey Rackard is generally regarded as perhaps one of the greatest hurlers of all-time. He was honoured by being named on the Gaelic Athletic Association's "Hurling Team of the Century", although he was not named on the "Hurling Team of the Millennium", with the full-forward position going to Cork's Ray Cummins. His scoring prowess has also earned Rackard a place on the top ten list of all-time scoring greats. In 2005 the GAA further honoured Rackard by naming the "Nicky Rackard Cup" in his honour.

In 2006, a Wexford author, Tom Williams, wrote a long-overdue biography of Rackard entitled 'Cuchullain's Son - The Story of Nickey Rackard'. The same author also penned a now well-known song about Rackard many years earlier. It too was called 'Cuchullain's Son' and has been recorded by various artists over the last 20 years and is a lament for the great sportsman.