J.J. Barry of Ballincurry County Tipperary, who died in December 1994 at the age of 70 was one of Ireland’s most renowned middle-distance athletes. Born in Joilet, Illinois, his family moved to Ireland, when he was two years old to live in The Commons, Ballingarry when his mother inherited her father’s small farm.
By the age of twenty John Joe Barry had already enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame taking many junior and senior titles in his stride and easily beating the best of his contemporaries at one mile upwards. One of the most charismatic athletes of his time he was affectionately known as the “Ballincurry Hare”. John Joe might as easily have been called – “The Trail Blazer”.
He was the first Irishman to gain sponsorship when in 1949 he enrolled as an athletic sponsorship to an American university Villanova, near Philadelphia. His subsequent success on American running tracks almost fifty years ago, paved the way for many Irish runners to cross the Atlantic in the hope of developing their athletic talent and furthering their education.
Little did he know what he was starting. A new Irish Brigade of talented middle distance athletic were to follow in his footsteps. Names such as Noel Carroll, Frank Murphy, John Hartnett, Eamon Coughlan, Marcus and Sonia O’ Sullivan, to name but a few are among a listing of Villanova’s who over the forty odd years were to win World, European and national titles by the score setting all sorts of other records in the process.
John Joe Barry broke the Irish record over three miles, two miles and one mile. In 1949, he won the British A.A.A. title over three miles and also won the U.S. championship over one mile distance. He broke the world record for the two mile and represented at both 1500 meters and 5000 meters at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. He wrote an autobiography naturally called the “Ballincurry Hare”, which chronicles the ups and downs of his colourful lifestyle and career.