Oonah Shannahan

Oonah Fay Shannahan (née Murray; 3 September 1921 – 28 September 2022) was a New Zealand netball player. She captained the New Zealand team in their second Test match, in 1948 against Australia.

Oonah Shannahan
Personal information
Full name Oonah Fay Shannahan (née Murray)
Born (1921-09-03)3 September 1921
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died 28 September 2022(2022-09-28) (aged 101)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Netball career
Playing position(s): C, WA
Years National team(s) Caps
1948 New Zealand 1

Early life

Shannahan was born Oonah Fay Murray in Dunedin on 3 September 1921, one of five children of Frederick Joseph Murray and Margaret Murray.[1][2][3][4] Her father worked on the railways, and the family moved to Taihape for five years before settling in Christchurch.[3] She was educated at Sacred Heart Girls' College in Christchurch,[5] where she excelled at sports, winning the senior athletics championship in 1937 and 1938.[6][7]

Netball career

Murray was captain of the Canterbury provincial netball team,[8] and in 1948 she was selected as captain of the New Zealand national team for the first Test against the touring Australian team at Forbury Park in Dunedin.[2][9] The match was played under international rules, with seven players per side, which were unfamiliar to the New Zealanders who were used to playing nine-a-side. The Australian team was victorious, winning 27–16.[10] The match was the only occasion on which Murray represented New Zealand, because the New Zealand side for the three-Test series was selected on a regional basis, and she was unavailable for the final game as it conflicted with the wedding of Murray's sister.[1]

Later life and death

Oonah Murray married Francis John Shannahan, a New Zealand secondary schools association football representative that toured Australia in 1938.[11] The couple had two children, and he died in 2009.[12][13]

After her playing career, Shannahan continued her involvement in netball as an administrator, and she received a Netball New Zealand service award.[2] She lived with her daughter at McCormacks Bay, and celebrated her 100th birthday on 3 September 2021.[2][3] She died in Christchurch on 28 September 2022, at the age of 101.[14] At the time of her death, she was the oldest living New Zealand netball international.[2][3]

References
  1. "Oonah Shannahan". Netball New Zealand. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. "Netball centenary 2021". Christchurch Netball Centre. 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  3. McFadden, Suzanne (3 September 2021). "Silver Ferns captain sets new milestone: 100 years old". Newsroom. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  4. "Birth search: registration number 1921/30102". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. "Sacred Heart Girls' College". Christchurch Star. Vol. 55, no. 20489. 15 December 1934. p. 29 (supplement). Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  6. "Convent Girls' High School". The Press. Vol. 73, no. 22234. 27 October 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  7. "Annual sports". The Press. Vol. 74, no. 22532. 14 October 1938. p. 11. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. "Basketball teams". Otago Daily Times. No. 26849. 13 August 1948. p. 2 ]. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  9. "Test match". Otago Daily Times. No. 26848. 12 August 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  10. "ANZAC Day Memories with Oonah Shanahan". Netball New Zealand. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  11. "New Zealand secondary schools' association football representatives". Evening Post. No. 23042. 22 August 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  12. "Stephen John Shannahan". Heaven Address. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  13. "Result detail". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  14. "Oonah Shannahan obituary". The Press. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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