Larry Roche, Billy Roche and Pierce Turner at Jem Roche’s grave at Crosstown Cemetery But his childhood offered no indication of what was to come. The first of five children born to John and Mary (neé Moran) Roche, Jem attended the Christian Brothers School where a passion for another sport was nurtured. An enthusiastic and skilled gaelic footballer, the teenager became a member of the Young Ireland's Gaelic Football Club and would go on to win a provincial title with the Selskar-based team. This love of the round ball would continue throughout Jem's life and he was part of the backroom staff of Wexford's 1918 All-Ireland football champions. His other passion as a young man was music and he played trombone with the Holy Family Confraternity Brass and Reed Band in Wexford town. Upon leaving school Jem became an apprentice blacksmith at William Haughton's forge in Abbey Steet, moving on to work with Mike Carton in Scarawalsh and Willie Carroll in Cleariestown.