Woman Behind Iconic Hurling Photograph – Remembering The late Tipperary Resident Ms Rita Lowry.

A moment captured in Limerick in 1952, a photograph that became part of Irish sporting history, and a remarkable lady whose passing marks the end of an era.

On 13 July 1952, following one of the most memorable Munster Hurling Finals ever played, a photograph was taken at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick that would become one of the most recognisable images in the history of Gaelic games.

Cork had just defeated Tipperary by 1-11 (14pts) to 2-6, (12pts), ending Tipp’s great hopes of four successive Munster titles.
At the centre of Cork’s victory was the legendary Christy Ring, battered, bloodied and bandaged after another extraordinary performance.
Standing beside him was a young woman holding a Kodak box camera. Her name was Rita Fenton, (later Rita Lowry,

Then a native of Ballygarvan, County Cork. The image captures a wonderful moment of sporting history. Mr Ring, his head heavily bandaged, rests his arm across Rita’s shoulders as she attempts to have her own photograph taken with her hurling hero.

What makes the story particularly fascinating is that Rita was no ordinary spectator. Born in 1927, she was herself an accomplished camogie player. Having moved from Cork to Fawnagown, Tipperary in 1948, she helped establish the Seán Treacy camogie club and went on to represent Tipperary. Remarkably, she had played against her native Cork in the Munster Camogie Final that very same year.

Rita was also a personal friend of Christy Ring. Their friendship continued long after that famous afternoon, with Ring sending her letters and Christmas cards over the years. For decades, the identity of the young woman in the photograph remained largely unknown to the wider public. She became affectionately known as the “Blood and Bandage Lady”.
It was not until May 2016, some 64 years after the photograph was taken, that the Irish Examiner, assisted by family friend Jerry Ring, brought her remarkable story to a wider audience.

Rita recalled that she had been passing her Kodak box camera to a friend so that a photograph could be taken of herself alongside Christy. At that very moment, another unknown photographer captured the scene that would become famous. The photograph appeared in the Cork Examiner on 14 July 1952 and would eventually find a permanent place in the visual history of Cork hurling, including a display at Páirc Uí Rinn.
Although the original photograph survives in the Irish Examiner archives, the name of the photographer responsible has not yet been firmly established.
Beyond that celebrated image, Rita devoted much of her life to Gaelic games, collecting photographs, newspaper reports and sporting memorabilia in an extraordinary series of scrapbooks.

Now comes the sad news that Mrs Rita Lowry (née Fenton) has passed away, in her 100th year. Her death was reported yesterday November 5th 2026.
She leaves behind a wonderful legacy, not only as the young woman in one of hurling’s most cherished photographs, but as a camogie player, club pioneer, lifelong sporting enthusiast and devoted family woman.
Seventy-four years after that unforgettable afternoon in Limerick, the photograph remains a powerful reminder of a different sporting age an era of fierce rivalry, extraordinary characters and enduring friendships.

Christy Ring’s name will forever occupy a special place in Irish sporting history. Thanks to one remarkable photograph, Rita Lowry’s name will always be remembered alongside his.

May Rita rest in peace.