Seán Purcell and Frank Stockwell
Galway's two most famous footballers of the 1950s were born in the same town in the same month. Seán Purcell arrived on 17 December 1928 and Frank Stockwell on 7 December, and together at Tuam Stars and for the county they were the terrible twins, Purcell the Master who could play anywhere on the field, Stockwell the full-forward that Galway has never bettered.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Tuam Stars GAA, Saint Jarlath's Park, St. Jarlath's College on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
The Master
Purcell went to Tuam CBS and St Jarlath's, and played on the college team that beat St Patrick's Grammar School of Armagh at Croke Park to win the Hogan Cup in 1947. His nickname came from his years teaching at Strawberry Hill National School in Dunmore. Best known at centre half-forward, he played most outfield positions from the 1940s to the 1960s, and in 2009 the Sunday Tribune listed him among the 125 most influential people in GAA history. He died on 27 August 2005.
The full-forward
Stockwell began with Galway in 1949 at nineteen, moved to Louth in 1950 to play club football and lined out for the Louth seniors in 1950 and 1951, came back for the 1952 championship and revived the attack with Purcell, and played for London too before 1960. He stayed in the game as a selector for the three-in-a-row team of 1964 to 1966 and again in 1980 and 1981, twice a selector with his club, and was president of Tuam Stars from 2006 until he died on 9 March 2009. The model on this page pins Tuam Stadium and the college.
Questions people ask
Why was Seán Purcell called the Master?
Who were Galway's terrible twins?
Written from Wikipedia, "Seán Purcell" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.