Westmeath Obituaries 2004/2005

Austin O’Grady
(Ringtown)
A native of Co. Mayo who lived in Kiltoom before finally settling in Castlepollard, Austin was a committed member and supporter of Ringtown since the club’s reformation in 1973.
He held several posts with the Whitehall-based club, including that of secretary. Austin maintained his interest in club developments, despite suffering from a serious illness. He died at home on October 26 and members of the Ringtown club formed a guard of honour at his removal to Castlepollard church.

Liam Cornally
(Ballymore)
Although one of Moate’s most prominent and best known citizens, Liam was a Ballymore man first and foremost. He was a key figure in Ballymore’s rise to senior prominence during the 1960s and lined out in the full back line when the green and golds lost the 1965 county final to Athlone.
After his playing days ended, he took up the whistle to become one of the top referees in the county. He was an older brother of Rob Cornally, who played alongside him in the ‘65 county final, and later served as secretary of the Westmeath football board.
Liam worked for a lifetime with Snowcream (later known as Dawn Dairies) in Moate, joining the company in 1959 and becoming general manager in the early 1970s. He was held in very high esteem in Moate where he assisted over the years with various local activities, including the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Bernie McCormack
(Kilbeggan Shamrocks)
Bernie, who lived in England for many years, hailed from a well-known GAA family in Kilbeggan. Her nephew, Mattie, won an All-Ireland minor medal with Westmeath in 1995 while another nephew, Alan, is one of the best known referees in the county.

Jimmy Dalton
(Castletown-Geoghegan)
The death of Jimmy Dalton over the Christmas period was deeply regretted by all GAA followers in Westmeath. Aged 66, Jimmy won six senior hurling championship medals with his beloved Castletown-Geoghegan and represented his county in league and championship action before a serious accident left him confined to a wheelchair for 40 years.
He came to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Athlone in 1980 and had been a patient there until taken ill last Christmas. Jimmy never lost his love for hurling and, with the help of his loyal friend, Frank Young, attended as many games as possible.
“He was a real character and we will all miss him very much. Jimmy was a real saint, no doubt about it. He was in such pain but never complained,” Frank said.
“He was a real legend. I remember the time he was inducted into the Westmeath GAA Hall of Fame in 1988. I met the GAA president of the time, John Dowling, at a match a couple of weeks beforehand and he knew that Jimmy was to receive the Hall of Fame award.
“John told me to make sure that whatever night the award was to be presented to Jimmy, to tell him so he could be there.”
His last championship season alive was an especially poignant one for him. Jimmy saw Westmeath win a first ever Leinster football title and his club win the county senior championship after a 14-year lapse.
In 2000, Jimmy presented a cup to the Westmeath minor board for a special under 15 millennium competition which was perhaps fittingly won by Castletown-Geoghegan. It is expected that the Jimmy Dalton Cup will be presented to the winners of one of the hurling underage championships as a fitting memorial to the great man.
Although a staunch Castletown man, Jimmy also took a keen interest in the affairs of Southern Gaels and was actually life president of the Athlone-based club.

Andy Cosgrove
(Lough Lene Gaels)
Andy was father of Westmeath senior hurling selector, Michael, and grandfather of rising county star, Killian. He played hurling with both Collinstown and Rickardstown and took a great interest in the affairs of Lough Lene Gaels since the club’s formation in the 1970s.
One of his proudest moments came in 1984 when Michael was selected to play for Leinster in their Railway Cup final defeat to Munster.

Denis Moran
(Ballynacargy)
Aged just 54, Denis was an avid Westmeath GAA supporter and even in the lean times, he travelled the country to support the county footballers. He took great delight from last summer’s Leinster championship success and usually travelled to matches with Willie Penrose TD, Mick Maher and Leo and Harry Farrell.
Denis’ favourite player was Larry Giles, who was one of Westmeath’s top performers in the 1980s and 1990s. He loved the camaraderie associated with the GAA and was deeply involved with the Ballynacargy club, being part of the junior winning side of 1976.
A noted handballer, he also participated in games such as pool and badminton and organised many competitions in the Ballynacargy area.

Jim Elliffe
(Loughnavalley and Milltown)
Jim was a revered figure in Loughnavalley and Milltown GAA circles, having represented both clubs with distinction. Although a staunch Loughnavalley man, Jim made his name in the colours of neighbouring Milltown.
A year after joining Milltown, he was a central figure in the club’s first senior football championship success. He held the position of left half back for many years and won a second senior championship medal in 1942, along with a senior league memento
When Milltown disbanded in 1943, Jim returned to his native parish and was instrumental in forming the Loughnavalley club. With Jim to the fore, Loughnavalley made an historic breakthrough in 1950 when they captured the junior championship, but only after they had lost the previous two quarter-finals to Boher.
After retiring from the game, Jim remained an avid Loughnavalley and Westmeath supporter and also kept a close eye on how Milltown were faring.

Michael Egan
(Loughnavalley)
Michael was a member of the Loughavalley team which made history by winning the junior championship of 1950. But the success might never have happened but for the fact that the popular farmer defied doctor’s orders to line out in an earlier game against Caulry.
After being taken ill, he was ordered to stay in bed by his doctor. But such was his dedication to Loughnavalley that he turned up at the game. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Loughnavalley trailed by five points and looked to be heading for defeat.
But after borrowing a pair of boots, Michael took the field and with his first touch, scored a goal to put Loughnavalley on the road to victory. He also made a valuable scoring contribution in the final.
In 1951, he was selected to play for Westmeath in the Leinster junior championship. When the Loughnavalley club disbanded, he and a number of his team-mates joined neighbouring Milltown.
In 1977, Michael came together with the late Paddy Kelly, Tommy Sweeney, John O’Reilly and JJ Ruane to reform the Loughnavalley club. He held the positions of treasurer and selector and was always an enthusiastic supporter. He acted as auctioneer at a number of fundraising auctions and was always at hand for other fundraising events as well.

Teresa Duffy
(Multyfarnham)
Teresa was the mother of Michael Duffy, who was Westmeath senior football team co-ordinator during last year’s historic Leinster championship success and continues to fulfil the role.

Stephen Kelly
(Kilbeggan Shamrocks)
A tragic accident on January 7 robbed this young sports star of his life. Aged just 16, Stephen had been playing in a sandpit near his home in Kilbeggan when the soil loosened and collapsed, trapping him underneath.
A major rescue operation was launched and after over four hours of digging, Stephen’s body was recovered. However, attempts to resuscitate him failed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A fifth year student at Mercy Secondary School in Kilbeggan, Stephen was a very promising footballer from a well-known and respected family, who are heavily involved in the GAA. His father Mickey played football for both Kilbeggan and Westmeath, as did his uncle Bobby, who is well-known throughout the county for his role as a coaching officer.
Stephen played underage football with Kilbeggan/St. Joseph’s and also hurled with Castletown-Geoghegan. He was a member of last year’s county under 16 football panel and also played with his school in the North Leinster Schools ‘C’ championship.
He was an avid Westmeath supporter and his favourite player was Derek Heavin, who was a relative of the family. There were heart-wrenching scenes at his funeral which was one of the biggest ever seen in Kilbeggan.
As a mark of respect to Stephen and his family, the Kilbeggan Shamrocks club postponed their AGM and their weekly lotto draw.

Colm Martin
(St. Loman’s and Cullion)
Colm’s untimely death, while enjoying a post-Christmas family celebration on St. Stephen’s Day, caused deep sadness in the Mullingar area. Aged just 47, he was a self-employed lorry driver who drew milk from dairy farms throughout Westmeath to the creamery in Virginia, Co. Cavan.
Never one to seek the limelight, Colm in his own quiet way contributed greatly to the local sports scene. He was an active member of the Mullingar Rugby Club and a sturdy member of the local tug o’war team. However, nothing gave him more satisfaction than seeing his four daughters Emma, Aoife, Aileen and Sile Marie excel on the sports fields.
Along with his wife Sheila, Colm rarely missed a camogie or ladies football match involving his beloved daughters. Over the past few years when St. Loman’s enjoyed unprecedented success by winning junior, intermediate, minor and senior titles, there were no prouder parents than Colm and Sheila.
Colm’s passion for sport was infectious and it was in no small way that his enthusiasm for Gaelic games led to the girls’ participation in camogie and ladies football.

Peter Fallon
(Lanesboro and Mullingar)
Although a native of Lanesboro, Co. Longford, Peter took a keen interest in Westmeath GAA and was present in Croke Park last July to witness the county footballers winning their first Leinster title. He worked on the nursing staff of St. Loman’s Hospital for over 40 years and also did some farming.

Joe Fallon
(Castletown-Geoghegan)
Joe was synonymous with Scor in Castletown-Geoghegan. He was recognised as one of most talented musicians around and for many years, backed the great Castletown-Geoghegan Set Dancers in Scor Sinsir.

Fr Malachy Lynam
(Ringtown)
Fr Lynam served as a curate in Coole/Whitehall from 1980 to ‘83, during which time he immersed himself in the local GAA scene. He quickly became an avid supporter of Ringtown and regularly attended senior and underage matches involving the club. He could always be relied on to transport young players to and from games in those early days of underage hurling in Ringtown.
However, he is best remembered for his promotion of Scor na nOg and Scor Sinsir in the Ringtown club. During his all too brief time in the parish, the popularity of Scor competitions was at its highest. Fr Lynam had a passionate interest in Scor and strongly encouraged people from the Ringtown area to involve themselves in it.

Tom Ryan
(Brownstown)
Tom was one of the last remaining links with the first Brownstown team to win a senior hurling championship in 1938. A stylish midfielder, Tom first played representative hurling for Brownstown at the age of 15. At the time, there were no organised competitions provided for underage teams in Westmeath so it became the norm for Brownstown to venture across the county boundary to play Meath standard-bearers, Athboy.
In 1931, he was part of a talented Brownstown minor team which reached the county final but suffered a narrow defeat to Athlone in Streamstown.
He garnered his first county medal in 1935 when Brownstown won the junior championship. Three years later, he savoured senior and league glory, by which time he had lined out for Westmeath at all levels. Sadly, his hurling career came to a premature end some time afterwards, just as he was entering his prime.
When asked why he retired so early, Tom said: “I became too interested in fishing and shooting. Before I gave up the hurling, I had been active in a number of sports, including football, handball and even pole vaulting. Fishing and shooting appealed to me more at the time and it was only years later that I regretted quitting hurling at such an early age.”
Though in his early nineties, Tom never lost his love for hurling. While fulsome in his praise of great hurlers such as Jack Lynch, Christy Ring, John Doyle, Eddie Keher and DJ Carey, he regarded the legendary Kilkenny star of the 1930s, Lory Meagher, as the finest hurler he had ever seen.
It was on Meagher and several other star names from that era that Tom modelled himself. Whilst growing up, hurling was the buzz word in Brownstown.
“For eight months of the year, we’d hurl every evening of the week. We’d spend the other four months waiting for the dry weather and long evenings to return,” he added.

Paddy Fagan
(Brownstown)
Paddy was a highly respected figure in the sporting and business life of Westmeath. All things GAA were sacrosanct to him and he had a long involvement with the Association dating back to the late 1930s when he first donned the famous blue jersey of his beloved Brownstown.
In his early years, Paddy was a farmer, agricultural contractor, bookmaker and photographer, but in the early 1950s he decided to uproot and head to Canada which brought an end to his playing career.
Before emigrating, he won every honour from minor to senior with Brownstown. He and his late brother Jimmy were members of the great team that won three in-a-row of senior championships in 1946, ‘47 and ‘48. He also played a number of games for Westmeath during this time.
Following his return from Canada, Paddy purchased a business in Wicklow before moving back to Mullingar and purchasing the Club Hotel which was later renamed the Lake County Hotel. As well as being a popular haunt with disco-goers, the Lake County was synonymous with the GAA and countless county board meetings were held there down the years.
Paddy moved on again to what was to become his great love, building and speculating. The big development in Castle Street and the Tara Court apartment block in Mullingar marked him out as a man ahead of his time. He was also involved in the Waxworks Museum in Dublin from its inception and helped in no small way to get the project off the ground and guide it into the successful business it became.
Even in more recent years, Paddy never lost his enthusiasm for the GAA. No venue was too far and in the year before his death, he travelled to Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Semple Stadium as well as his regular journeys to Croke Park.
He attended the 1949 Leinster football final between Westmeath and Meath and was eagerly looking forward to attending last year’s final before he passed away to his eternal reward.
In recent years, Paddy was concerned about the decline in hurling standards as he perceived it, and was constantly seeking new ways, means or competitions to encourage the youth to partake and to improve their skills in the national game.

Jack Melia
(Castlepollard)
Jack’s death last May marked the passing of one of Castlepollard hurling club’s most legendary figures. He was a man for whom hurling was a religion and his love for ‘Pollard was unstinting and all-consuming.
Aged 88, Jack was the oldest living member of the famous north Westmeath club. He actually began his hurling career with neighbouring Ringtown in the 1930s. He joined ‘Pollard a few years later and won two junior championships with the club.
Jack was secretary of the Castlepollard club for 32 years, from 1944 to ‘76. During the years from 1971 to ‘74, ‘Pollard captured minor and senior championship titles, successes which were a source of great satisfaction to the long-serving secretary.
He was also a selector with the county minor team which defeated Roscommon in the All-Ireland ‘Special’ final of 1971. There were four Castlepollard players on that team - Eugene Fagan, Tony Corrigan, Jack’s son, Sean, and his son-in-law, Sean Farrell.
Along with his late wife, Maureen, Jack was deeply involved in Castlepollard fundraising activities. With these funds, the club purchased the field on the Coole Road and in later years, work on the complex and dressing rooms was completed.
Jack was extremely proud of the manner in which the club developed over the past 20 years. There was no prouder man than Jack when ‘Pollard won the senior hurling championship in their centenary year of 2003. Fittingly, his grandson, Aaron Farrell, was a member of that team.
Although failing in health, Jack attended the celebrations and dinner dance to mark the club’s centenary year. On the same night, members of the Castlepollard senior team were presented with their championship medals.
Both of his sons, Sean and Jimmy, played at club and county level and Jack was very proud of this fact.
Paying tribute to Jack and his wife, Maureen, Castlepollard club chairman Ned Flynn said:”Jack gave tremendous service to Castlepollard as a player, a selector and administrator over 60 years.
“Most of that service was given to the club at a time when it was in a sorry state and could not be compared to the strong position of the present time. But it was people like Jack Melia who kept the spark alive when there was little money for anything. His wife Maureen was most active in raising funds for the field and complex on the Pakenhamhall Road.
“Jack was legendary for many things, but the one most striking facility which he had was to get the message to players of a game at a time when there were no phones, faxes or emails like we have now. He always got the message to the players about upcoming games - at least three times before the game.
“He had the ability to coax players to come to training and to play competitive games where others had failed and he always managed to field a team. In his later years, he was conscious that the future of the game lay with the youth and he always enquired about the fortunes of the underage teams.”
Flynn added: “Castlepollard hurling club owes a great debt of gratitude to Jack Melia and people of his generation who kept the club going through the most difficult of years. His likes will never be seen again.”

Christy Glynn
(Milltown)
Christy’s involvement with Milltown dated back to the mid-1960s. But before joining Milltown, he had been involved with both Empor and St. Mel’s - two clubs which sadly no longer exist.
Within a short time of joining Milltown, Christy took up the role of team selector. He was elected club chairman a few years later and one of his greatest moments was Milltown’s junior championship victory of 1974, which compensated for the narrow defeat of the previous year.
After stepping down as chairman in 1978, Christy remained involved for well over a decade as a team selector. He also served spells as vice-chairman, PRO and representative to the county board before becoming chairman for a second time in the late 1980s. This period coincided with the club purchasing and developing a new pitch, a project he was a staunch supporter of.
Christy was elected life president in 1994 and, while he was no longer actively involved, he still retained a keen interest in happenings in the club. Indeed, all six of his children played for Milltown. He didn’t just confine all his energies to the club, though, as he was also for many years an obliging steward on big match days in Cusack Park.
The huge attendance at his removal and funeral bore testimony to the high esteem in which Christy was held.

Charles Byrne
(Ballynacargy)
Charles, or Charlie as he was known to his many friends, was a great supporter of the Ballynacargy and Westmeath football teams. In his younger days, he often cycled with his brother, Conor, to Croke Park to attend the All-Ireland final.

Jim Shaw
(Ringtown)
A popular member of the farming community in north Westmeath, Jim played many matches with Ringtown in the 1940s and 1950s before its disbandment, and was a member of the 1949 Feis Cup winning team.
He was an avid supporter of Ringtown since the club’s reformation and saw his son, Dick, play on the senior team for many years.
Jim was pre-deceased by his wife Della, who was a former member of the teaching staff at Whitehall NS.

Bro. Frank Keegan
(Ballinagore and Mullingar)
A native of Mabrista, Ballinagore, Bro. Keegan was a driving force behind the GAA at St. Mary’s CBS, Mullingar since coming to the school in 1969. Down the years, he enjoyed an excellent relationship with Leinster Colleges GAA and took great satisfaction from the various successes St. Mary’s had on the playing fields.
He loved his home area of Ballinagore and Castletown-Geoghegan and greatly enjoyed their sporting successes in football and hurling.

Jack O’Brien
(Tyrrellspass)
Jack, who was in his mid-sixties, was a member of a well-known GAA family in Tyrrellspass. He began playing football with Tyrrellspass NS and later attended Mullingar Vocational School.
After leaving school, he worked in Dublin but this didn’t stop him from playing senior football with St. Mary’s, Rochfortbridge and Westmeath. Along with his brothers, Paddy and Joe, he won senior championship medals with St. Mary’s in 1962 and ‘64.
Like Jack, Joe was also based in Dublin at the time and both of them kept fit by training in the Phoenix Park with numerous other GAA players from all over Ireland. They also returned to Rochfortbridge twice weekly for collective training and were often togged out and ready before the locally-based players.
Jack and his wife Kathleen were extremely proud to see their son, John, play full back for Westmeath during the Mattie Kerrigan era. They travelled the length and breath of the country to watch John play during what was a period when Westmeath climbed several rungs of the football ladder, culminating in last year’s Leinster championship success.
Of course, one of the highpoints of Jack’s life was seeing John captain Tyrrellspass to their first senior championship triumph in 1999.
As a mark of respect to Jack, a minute’s silence was observed at the Longford-Westmeath O’Byrne Cup match in early January.

Fionan O’Shea
(Kerry and Mullingar)
Born in Sneem, Co. Kerry, Fionan came to teach in Westmeath in the 1940s where he remained until his death on January 11 last. His first teaching post in this area was in Kilbeggan. He later took up the position of principal at Crowenstown NS near Delvin where he taught until the 1970s.
Two of his great passions were greyhound racing and GAA and although he lived in Mullingar for a large part of his life, he remained true to his Kerry roots. He was a very talented footballer and after playing with the Geraldines club in Dublin, he won a county championship medal with Kilbeggan. He later trained the Brownstown hurlers, bringing them success on a number of occasions.
His love of football was reflected in the fact that he attended 51 All-Ireland finals in-a-row, which must be something of a record. In all, he attended over 70 All-Ireland finals in both football and hurling.
Fionan was delighted last year to see his adopted county win its first Leinster senior football title, and even more so because his fellow countyman Paidi O Se was at the helm.
His coffin was draped in the Tricolour to mark the fact that he had held the role of Quartermaster General for South Westmeath during “The Emergency”.

John Seery
(Milltown)
John was a noted goalkeeper with Milltown and captained the Rathconrath-based club to a memorable junior championship success in 1974. The victory over old rivals Castletown-Finea atoned for the disappointment John and many of his team-mates had experienced five years earlier when Milltown lost the final to Tyrrellspass.
While most goalkeepers can be quite vocal on the pitch, John was the opposite. His quiet disposition and gentle manner portrayed a different form of authority around the goal area. A slight raise of the voice was sufficient to confirm his presence and remind others of their responsibilities.
Big in stature, John played alongside his brothers Eddie and Tom for many years before moving to Dublin where his footballing talents were quickly put to use when he helped Ballyboden St. Enda’s to win their first ever county intermediate championship.
He became an important member of that club, being involved in many victories at various levels. During his playing career, he also represented Westmeath at senior and minor level.

Paddy Croash Snr
(Killucan)
Paddy was a stalwart of Killucan GAA and his passing last June left a huge void in the club. He arrived in Killucan as a 12-year-old with his parents from Wexford in 1927. He began his playing career with the Derrymore club who he represented with distinction throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
In the early 1960s, he joined the reformed Killucan club of which he was appointed chairman in 1963. His work with CIE brought him to Claremorris, Co. Mayo where he remained until the early 1970s. On his return to Killucan, he represented the club at county board level for more than two decades.
Paddy became club president in the early 1980s, a position he held until the time of his death. During that time, he saw Killucan achieve many honours on the playing field, but perhaps the highlight of his tenure was being involved in the club’s centenary celebrations in 1984.

PJ Smith
(Kilbeggan Shamrocks)
PJ was one of a group of talented footballers and hurlers who revived the fortunes of Kilbeggan GAA club during the 1950s and 1960s, after a barren period that had stretched back over 25 years.
Born in 1933, he first took an interest in GAA during his schooldays when he spent many an evening playing football on the Tullamore Road with Martin and Sean Craig and the great Ned ‘Dinger’ Brewer. His love for hurling was instilled in him by Kit O’Reilly from nearby Castletown-Geoghegan.
PJ lived all his life in Kilbeggan, except for four years when he worked on the construction of the new cathedral in Coventry. During his time in Coventry, he played for a number of the local GAA clubs in the Warwickshire championship and became friendly with some of the biggest names in the GAA, including Paddy McCormack from Offaly, Westmeath’s John ‘Jobber’ McGrath and John Maher from Kildare.
While home on holidays, PJ was asked by the local club to play in the semi-finals of the junior football and hurling championships. Then he was asked to return home for the finals, which he did, travelling back three times in all with the first final having ended in a draw.
Kilbeggan defeated Glenidan by 7-7 to 4-4 in the junior hurling final and completed a rare double when they overcame Mullingar Shamrocks by 3-4 to 0-4 in the football decider.
PJ remained a loyal member of the GAA for the rest of his life. His three sons, Padraig, Dermot and Kevin, carry on this tradition. Dermot captained the 1992 junior team which won a treble of championship, league and cup titles. Dermot and Kevin won intermediate championship medals in 2000. Dermot and Padraig have also served as secretary and assistant treasurer of the Kilbeggan club respectively.

Mary Duffy
(Bunbrosna)
The deceased was a great Scor enthusiast. Along with her husband Christy and family, she represented Bunbrosna for many years, winning a number of county and Leinster titles between them.
When Christy returned to Scor competition after a long-absence a few years ago, Mary was there to support him and help out.

Mary McCormack
(Streamstown)
Mary was a great supporter of the GAA and was thrilled when Westmeath captured their first Leinster football title last July. She liked nothing better than recalling stories about Westmeath football in bygone times.

Joe Glennon
(Mullingar and Coventry)
A member of a well-known and old Mullingar family, Joe emigrated to Coventry at a young age where he became a prominent figure in the Irish community there.
He was involved in the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the GAA and everything Irish. Joe also helped with the Pope’s visit to Coventry Airport in 1982 and was honoured for his involvement. At his funeral in Coventry, his coffin was draped with the Westmeath colours and football jersey of which he was extremely proud.

Martin Fitzpatrick
(Tubberclair and Caulry)
Martin enjoyed a successful playing career with Tubberclair, winning minor, under 21, junior, junior ‘B’ and intermediate medals. On the playing field, he relished a challenge and the tougher and more competitive the game, the better he liked it.
In later years, Martin became a dedicated member of the Caulry club. He managed Caulry teams at underage level when he passed on his great knowledge of football to the younger generation of players at the club.
He also served as chairman of the Caulry minor board and was a member of several committees where he worked for the good of the club and its players.

Mary Reilly
(Milltownpass)
Mary was deeply involved with the Milltownpass club’s underage committee and was a delegate to the county minor board. Her son, Vincent, is one of the club’s brightest prospects and featured at full back on last year’s under 16 football team.

Tess Slevin
(Ballynacargy)
Tess, who was in her mid seventies, was the wife of Matt Slevin who, for many years, was one of the county’s best known GAA officials. Matt is the life president of the Ballynacargy club and received tremendous support from Tess down the years.
The Slevin family are synonymous with the GAA in Ballynacargy and it was thus fitting that the local club provided a guard of honour at Tess’ removal from the General Hospital, Mullingar to the Church of the Nativity in Ballynacargy.

Ned Gibney
(St. Loman’s)
A native of Killnaleck, Co. Cavan, Ned served St. Loman’s GAA club in a variety of capacities over a long number of years. His association with the Mullingar club goes back to the 1960s when he was team trainer and selector.
He experienced the highs and lows of success and failure over the years, but no matter how low the lows, he was always there for the club. When St. Loman’s were relegated from the senior ranks, Ned redoubled his efforts to restore them to the top tier of Westmeath football and indeed, he was a very proud man when they won junior and intermediate championships back-to-back in 1984 to 1985 to regain their senior status.
Ned was also associated with St. Loman’s Hospital teams in many roles and enjoyed many great successes with those teams, culminating in St. Loman’s winning the All-Ireland Hospital championship and All-Ireland league titles in 1985. He gave all his time freely to travel long distances to act as selector and team physio during those years.
He has left a lasting legacy at St. Loman’s as his son Noel continues the Gibney family tradition in his role as selector with the senior team this year.
A member of the Defence Forces from 1950 to ‘86, Ned became heavily involved with the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen (O.N.E.) in recent years, serving as chairman up until the time of his death.

Seamus Morgan
(Rochfortbridge)
The deceased had an involvement with three clubs throughout his lifetime - Tyrrellspass, St. Mary’s, Rochfortbridge and St. Brigid’s. He played a lot of football with Tyrrellspass from under 14 level right up to junior and was a very good defender.
He later played with St. Mary’s and, in more recent years, was a devoted mentor to juvenile teams in the club, spending many hours putting them through their paces as they prepared for games. Seamus also had a strong association with St. Brigid’s hurling club in nearby Dalystown.
Margaret Carton
(Kilbeggan)
Margaret’s son Ger has had a lifelong involvement with Kilbeggan Shamrocks, serving the club in a variety of roles. He refereed for a number of years in the 1980s and has acted as umpire at games the length and breadth of the county.
As a mark of respect to Margaret, an All-County League Division 5 game between Kilbeggan and Ballymore, due to be played on April 16 last, was postponed.

David Smith
(Brownstown and St. Paul’s)
The Archerstown and Clonmellon areas were saddened to learn of the tragic death of 16-year-old David Smith in April. He was a promising hurler with Brownstown and was also a noted footballer with St. Paul’s underage teams.
He was a youthful member of the Brownstown under 12 team that won the county ‘A’ championship in 1998, a team which was incidentally managed by his father Tommy.
In 2002, he was part of the Clonmellon NS team which won the Cumann na mBunscol title and he subsequently attended Athboy Community College.
All local GAA fixtures and other events in the parish were postponed as a mark of respect to this popular young man.

Mary Ellen Norman
(Rochfortbridge and Dublin)
Mary Ellen, or Molly as she was better known, was born into a staunch GAA family in Rochfortbridge. He father Mick was a well-known player with the famous Rochfortbridge Warriors in the early 1900s and later had spells as chairman and secretary of the club. Her first husband Tom Gallagher, who died at the age of just 29, also played with the Warriors.
Molloy moved to Dublin in the 1940s and later married Dick Norman. However, she never forgot her roots and remained a loyal Westmeath GAA supporter. She was overjoyed when the senior footballers won the Leinster title for the first time last year. The success was made all the sweeter by the fact that a relative, David Mitchell, was playing on the team.
Molloy was a founder member and past president of the Westmeath Association in Dublin. She was aged 92 and had the Westmeath flag placed on her coffin at her funeral.

Pat Finnerty
(Mullingar)
Although athletics was his preferred sport, Pat took a great interest in the GAA and was an avid supporter of his native Mayo. He was involved with the Mullingar Harriers club for almost 30 years and undoubtedly his proudest moment came in 1996 when his son Cormac competed in the 5,000 metres at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, becoming the first Westmeath man to do so.