The great and the good of Galway GAA were out in force as the glorious history of the county’s legendary Terrible Twins was definitively documented in a new book – written by the journalist who knew them best.

Jim Carney, the former Connacht Tribune and Tuam Herald sportswriter who was also original presenter of the Sunday Game on RTÉ, has fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition to tell the story of Tuam’s Seán Purcell and Frank Stockwell, two Gaelic football legends who were born within ten days of each other in December 1928.

Families of both legends were present for the launch in the Ard Ri House Hotel in Tuam as those who spoke at the event reflected on how significant their legacy was for the town.

The so-called ‘Terrible Twins’ won an All-Ireland with Galway in 1956 as well as being part of the Tuam Stars team that won seven-in-a-row county titles from 1954 to 1960.

But it was footage of the successful Galway 1956 team’s trip to New York, which was shown on a big screen, which got the 600 plus crowd at the launch intrigued.

The colourful images were captured by the late Tuam publican Junie Loftus when he worked in the pub business in the Big Apple at the time.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.