Austin Stack

Austin Stack (7 December 1879 – 27 April 1929) was an Irish revolutionary and politician.

Early life

Stack was born in Ballymullen, Tralee, County Kerry. He was educated at the Christian Brothers School in Tralee. At the age of fourteen he left school and became a clerk in a solicitor's office. A gifted Gaelic footballer, he captained the Kerry team to All-Ireland victory in 1904. He also served as President of the Kerry Gaelic Athletic Association County Board.

Activism

He became politically active in 1908 when he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1916, as commandant of the Kerry Brigade of the Irish Volunteers, he made preparations for the landing of arms by Roger Casement. He was made aware that Casement was arrested on Easter Saturday and was being held in Tralee. He made no attempt to rescue him from Ballymullen Barracks as this would have been futile and foolhardy.Nor did he receive orders to this end.

Stack was arrested and sentenced to death for his involvement in the Rising, however, this was later commuted to penal servitude for life. He was released under general amnesty in June 1917 and was elected as an abstentionist Sinn Féin Member of Parliament for Kerry West in the 1918 Westminster election, becoming a member of the 1st Dáil. He was automatically elected as an abstentionist member of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and a member of the 2nd Dáil as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála for Kerry–Limerick West at the 1921 elections.

Austin Stack Park

Austin Stack Park is a GAA stadium in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is one of the stadiums of Kerry GAA's Gaelic football and the stadium of the hurling team.

The ground was named after Austin Stack, an Irish revolutionary and captain of the All-Ireland winning Kerry Gaelic football team of 1904. It is located in the centre of Tralee. It hosts many Kerry GAA home games, mostly football league games and both league and championship hurling. The County Championship football and hurling finals are normally held here.

History

Austin Stack Park has been used for the playing of games since well into the 19th century. Generally known as The Sportsfield it was owned by the County Kerry Athletic and Cricket Club. At that time the pitch was oval shaped and surrounded by a 440 yard sloping cinder track considered to be the finest in Ireland.

In 1903 the trustees rented The Sportsfield to a committee consisting of all GAA members. The Kerry County Board then purchased the grounds in 1929.