James Edward Heron (28 November 1910 – 23 April 1985) was an Irish high diving and springboard diving champion. He won the British Diving Championship in 1932 and represented Ireland at the 1948 Olympic Games.
Eddie Heron was born in the north inner city of Dublin, Ireland. His father, Michael, worked as a butcher and was from Carlow. His mother, Mary Heron (née Kennedy) was from Dublin. Heron senior was an able gymnast and diver and introduced his son to both disciplines at an early age.[1] Indeed, young Heron learnt to dive before he could swim. At the age of eleven his father had to help him from the pool following a swallow dive which the boy performed at the Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) Regatta.[2]
National victoriesedit
Heron's first major successes took place in 1924 when he was thirteen. In July he won the Leinster Championship.[3] A month later he competed in the Tailteann Games, coming third in the Men's Plain Diving competition. The winner was Olympic champion, Dick Eve.[4] At the same games Heron won the boys' diving competition.[5] Between then and 1950, he dominated Irish diving, winning thirty-four national titles in both high diving and springboard events.[1]
International achievementsedit
In 1932 Heron achieved international success by beating Doug Tomalin to win the British Diving Championship at Leeds.[6] In preparation for the 1936 Summer Olympics, Heron spent the first six months of the year in Miami, Florida, where he trained with Pete Desjardins, the 1928 Olympic champion.[7] However, due to a dispute as to which sporting body should represent Irish athletes, Ireland did not participate in the 1936 Olympics.[8] The next games took place in London in 1948 but another dispute over jurisdiction led to Heron and his team mates withdrawing from all swimming and diving events. Heron did, however, compete in the opening heats of the diving competitions before the withdrawal.[5]
Later yearsedit
Although Heron retired from competitive diving in 1950, he was persuaded to take part in the 1968 Irish three-metre springboard championship held at Blackrock Baths in Dublin. At the age of fifty-seven, he took the title by defeating the reigning champion, George Matulevicze.[9] He continued to take part in diving exhibitions and competitions well into his sixties.[10] At the annual Texaco Sports Star Awards held in January 1977, Heron received the Hall of Fame award from TaoiseachLiam Cosgrave.[11]
Personal lifeedit
Heron was married to Helen (‘Nellie’) McGuirk; they had no children. Following a long illness, he died in St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, at the age of seventy-four.[1]
Posthumous honoursedit
In July each year, swimmers compete for the Eddie Heron Cup in a race from Dún Laoghaire to Blackrock. This is organised by Heron's former club, Sandycove Swimming Club.[12] A plaque in honour of Eddie Heron has been erected near the now-demolished Blackrock Baths where he competed for many years.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdJim Shanahan, "Heron, James Edward ('Eddie')", Dictionary of Irish Biography, (ed.) James McGuire, James Quinn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
^Swim Ireland, "Open Sea - Calendar 2014" 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 5 Mar. 2015.
External linksedit
Photos of Eddie Heron at www.fantasyjackpalance.com
January 01, 1970
eddie, heron, james, edward, heron, november, 1910, april, 1985, irish, high, diving, springboard, diving, champion, british, diving, championship, 1932, represented, ireland, 1948, olympic, games, personal, informationborn, 1910, november, 1910dublin, ireland. James Edward Heron 28 November 1910 23 April 1985 was an Irish high diving and springboard diving champion He won the British Diving Championship in 1932 and represented Ireland at the 1948 Olympic Games Eddie HeronPersonal informationBorn 1910 11 28 November 28 1910Dublin IrelandDiedApril 23 1985 1985 04 23 aged 74 Dublin IrelandSportSportDiving Plaque celebrating Eddie Heron s life and swimming achievements outside Blackrock train station in County Dublin Ireland Contents 1 Early life 2 National victories 3 International achievements 4 Later years 5 Personal life 6 Posthumous honours 7 References 8 External linksEarly life editEddie Heron was born in the north inner city of Dublin Ireland His father Michael worked as a butcher and was from Carlow His mother Mary Heron nee Kennedy was from Dublin Heron senior was an able gymnast and diver and introduced his son to both disciplines at an early age 1 Indeed young Heron learnt to dive before he could swim At the age of eleven his father had to help him from the pool following a swallow dive which the boy performed at the Kingstown now Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2 National victories editHeron s first major successes took place in 1924 when he was thirteen In July he won the Leinster Championship 3 A month later he competed in the Tailteann Games coming third in the Men s Plain Diving competition The winner was Olympic champion Dick Eve 4 At the same games Heron won the boys diving competition 5 Between then and 1950 he dominated Irish diving winning thirty four national titles in both high diving and springboard events 1 International achievements editIn 1932 Heron achieved international success by beating Doug Tomalin to win the British Diving Championship at Leeds 6 In preparation for the 1936 Summer Olympics Heron spent the first six months of the year in Miami Florida where he trained with Pete Desjardins the 1928 Olympic champion 7 However due to a dispute as to which sporting body should represent Irish athletes Ireland did not participate in the 1936 Olympics 8 The next games took place in London in 1948 but another dispute over jurisdiction led to Heron and his team mates withdrawing from all swimming and diving events Heron did however compete in the opening heats of the diving competitions before the withdrawal 5 Later years editAlthough Heron retired from competitive diving in 1950 he was persuaded to take part in the 1968 Irish three metre springboard championship held at Blackrock Baths in Dublin At the age of fifty seven he took the title by defeating the reigning champion George Matulevicze 9 He continued to take part in diving exhibitions and competitions well into his sixties 10 At the annual Texaco Sports Star Awards held in January 1977 Heron received the Hall of Fame award from Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave 11 Personal life editHeron was married to Helen Nellie McGuirk they had no children Following a long illness he died in St Vincent s Hospital Dublin at the age of seventy four 1 Posthumous honours editIn July each year swimmers compete for the Eddie Heron Cup in a race from Dun Laoghaire to Blackrock This is organised by Heron s former club Sandycove Swimming Club 12 A plaque in honour of Eddie Heron has been erected near the now demolished Blackrock Baths where he competed for many years 1 References edit a b c d Jim Shanahan Heron James Edward Eddie Dictionary of Irish Biography ed James McGuire James Quinn Cambridge United Kingdom Cambridge University Press 2009 Sunday Independent 19 Dec 1976 Irish Independent 21 Jul 1924 Freemans Journal 16 Aug 1924 a b Fergus Barron Swimming for a century Irish Amateur Swimming Association 1993 pp 55 68 Irish Independent 2 Aug 1932 Irish Independent 25 Jun 1936 Patrick O Sullivan Ireland amp the Olympic Games History Ireland Vol 6 No 1 Spring 1998 pp 40 45 Irish Times 24 Aug 1968 Irish Times 6 Aug 1976 Irish Press 1 Feb 1977 Swim Ireland Open Sea Calendar 2014 Archived 2015 04 02 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 5 Mar 2015 External links editPhotos of Eddie Heron at www fantasyjackpalance com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eddie Heron amp oldid 1225287498, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
