Tales From the Sea Side No.3 Boomtown Rat Killers

This year sees the 25th anniversary of the formation of the hugely popular Tramore Rat Killing and Pig Wrestling Society of Friends.

The society has come a long way in that time, and has remained a central tenet of Tramore life throughout the quarter century of its existence, despite the massive competition it faces from the myriad of other recreational opportunities now available.

The society was formed by Willie 'slippers' Brennan in the autumn of 1974. Unemployed at the time, Brennan and a group of friends decided to develop their collective passions for the fine arts of rat killing and pig wrestling by forming an organisation dedicated to both fields of endeavour.

The early days were difficult, and without funding members had to rely on crude equipment and facilities. Indeed such were the financial restraints that for the clubs' first championship in 1975 stray dogs, rounded up by club members, had to be used in the pig wrestling disciplines.

"Freestyle Rat Skinning and Mutilation"

However the burgeoning popularity of the Society soon had local businessman queuing up to offer much needed sponsorship, and by 1980 the club was financially secure enough to host that year's British and Irish Association of Rat Killers Championship.

The tournament was to prove a huge success, with the Tramore competitors more than holding their own with such illustrious names as Jock 'splinters' Brown from Aberdeen, the Thompson brothers, Harry and Toby, from Leeds, and the legendary Barry 'pencil case' Jones, from that renowned conveyor belt of Welsh rat killing talent, Maesteg.

The event would also mark the entrance onto the world stage of the legendary James 'spoons' Sweeney, generally acknowledged as the most skilled rat killer ever to emerge from the society, he coming home with the Bronze medal in the Freestyle Rat Skinning and Mutilation discipline.

Four time champion rat killer, and twice winner of the Thomas Brady Perpetual Shield for Excellence in the field of Rat Killing, Sweeney was a household name throughout the early eighties, his exquisite skills drawing comparisons with such greats as the legendary German Rat Killer, Jurgen Spunkberger.

"Stuffed Rats"

A duel sportsman who also excelled in Pig Wrestling, Sweeney's finest hour was the Silver medal he picked up at the 1983 European Rat Killing Championships in Warsaw. However Sweeney has always maintained he should have gone one better, insisting that the Bulgarian Gold Medalist Alexi Bollockov was using performance enhancing drugs.

Now living in New York, Sweeney's home is a veritable shrine to the art of rat killing, with photographs, trophies and stuffed rats acting as a constant reminder to the time when he was the country's finest exponent of the noble art.

Perhaps the clubs' greatest achievement was their hat-trick of national pig wrestling titles in the mid-eighties, culminating in 1986 when they overcame their great Wexford rivals Roscrea in a nail-biting finale.

"Membership for Gardai"

However that was to prove something of a watershed for the clubs' fortunes, it being the last time they brought the Jamsie Swift Perpetual Pig Wrestling Shield back to Tramore.

While membership has dwindled since the halcyon days of the early eighties, the club has continued to progress, and last year finally brought to an end its controversial policy of not allowing full membership to the Gardai.

Whatever the truth holds in store for this great Tramore institution, it will always hold a special place in the hearts of those who remember when the town's name was synonymous all over the world as a Mecca for all supporters of the highly skilled arts of Rat Killing and Pig Wrestling.