Westmeath Obituaries 2005/2006

Ian McDonnell
(Castletown-Geoghegan
and Shandonagh)
Ian, who died in tragic circumstances, was a talented underage player with Castletown-Geoghegan and Shandonagh. He was a member of Castletown’s winning under 12, under 14 and under 16 teams in the past few years.
A minute’s silence was observed as a mark of respect to Ian before Castletown-Geoghegan’s senior hurling championship encounter with Delvin last May.

Anthony McCarthy (Castlepollard)
The people of Castlepollard were shocked to learn of the death of Anthony McCarthy following a freak accident late last year. A native of Crookedwood, ‘Carthy’ as he was affectionately known, came to live in Castlepollard after his primary school education and stayed until the end of the late 1950s when he moved to pastures new.
Anthony was very adept with the caman and after moving to ‘Pollard, was immediately integrated into the club’s underage scene. He was an outstanding minor in 1953 when ‘Pollard were unlucky not to reach the championship final. Two years later, he was a member of the ‘Pollard team which won the junior championship.
This young team formed the backbone of the subsequent senior side that ended a 24-year wait for championship success in 1961, and had he stayed around, Anthony would almost certainly have been a part of it.

Matt Slevin (Ballynacargy)
All Westmeath gaels were saddened to learn of the death of Ballynacargy man Matt Slevin on July 8 last. During his 84 years, Matt made a huge contribution to Ballynacargy, Westmeath and Leinster GAA, and was also a highly respected figure in handball circles.
It’s fair to say that Ballynacargy would not be the thriving club it is today but for Matt’s remarkable input down the years. A central figure in the development of Ballynacargy throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he gave tremendous service to the underage section, as well as being prominent on the club’s executive.
Matt was club secretary when the new dressing rooms were officially opened in 1987, an event which coincided with Ballynacargy’s intermediate championship success that year. He was a driving force behind the construction of that facility, but that is only one example of his work for the club through his decades of involvement.
The deceased’s link with Ballynacargy stretched back to the 1930s and he was part of the first Bal’ team to win a junior championship in 1939. Bal’ beat Athlone by 3-7 to 3-5 in the final and with his great friend Billy Cashin, Matt was also part of the side which won the 1948 junior championship.
The two friends also linked up to help Westmeath to victory over Louth in the 1939 Leinster minor football final. Ballynacargy came closest to winning a senior title in 1941 when they lost to Rosemount and Matt was part of that team. He played up until 1949 when Bal’ were eliminated from the championship by Athlone.
Matt was a leading club official when Moynihan Park was purchased in the early 1960s. He was also heavily involved at underage level during this period, and guided Bal’ to an under 17 championship success in ’63. Back then, Matt travelled the length and breadth of the county with players, sometimes in his work truck, so as to ensure they got the opportunity to reach their full potential.
But it wasn’t just at local level that his contribution was felt. He served as minor board chairman, county board treasurer and Leinster Council delegate throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During his time as Leinster Council delegate, Matt was a strong negotiator in the area of fixtures, and was responsible for bringing many important matches to Cusack Park.
Matt Slevin was a close associate of former Leinster Council secretary, the late Martin O’Neill, and he used this influence to promote and develop the Ballynacargy club. Indeed, one of his proudest moments was bringing O’Neill to Moynihan Park to show off the club’s new grounds. Moynihan Park was subsequently used for inter-county matches which brought in vital revenue as the club endeavoured to make progress.
Matt was also a committed community worker and played a pivotal role in the construction of the Community Centre and the handball alley in Ballynacargy. He had a keen interest in handball and for years promoted the game.
Although the sport dwindled for a time, Matt was the driving force behind its revival in Ballynacargy in the 1990s and organised tournaments which brought the legendary Kilkenny handballer Michael ‘Duxie’ Walsh among others to the Westmeath village.
Up until the time of his passing, he was a club president and trustee, and Moynihan Park will be forever remembered as his greatest legacy.

Ann Whelan (Kilbeggan)
Ann was part of a well-known GAA family in Kilbeggan. Her son John is a former Kilbeggan Shamrocks player, and football is a daily topic of conversation in his newsagents in the centre of the town. Ann was predeceased by her son Joe, who was a member of the Kilbeggan team which lost the 1980 senior championship final to The Downs.

Patrick Dunne (Kinnegad)
‘The Dunner’ was one of the great characters of Westmeath GAA and was also one of the finest footballers the county has ever produced. A native of Kinnegad, he was a colourful, larger-than-life figure and was known throughout the country.
Aged 71, he began his inter-county career as a member of the Westmeath minor team which won the Leinster championship in 1952. He later played senior football for Westmeath and Galway, who welcomed the footballing skills he had used to great effect in his native county.
The highpoint of his career came in 1959 when he played for Galway in the All-Ireland final. He was joined on that team by another Westmeath man, Frank Eivers, who had also won a Leinster minor medal with Westmeath seven years earlier.
As well as representing Westmeath and Galway, he was also selected for Railway Cup duty by Leinster and Connacht. The ‘Dunners’ finest hour at club level was helping St. Finian’s (now Coralstown/Kinnegad) to victory over St. Mary’s in the 1967 county final. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the Kinnegad team which lost county finals in 1951, ’55 and ’56.
‘The Dunner’ could put his hand to any sport and was also an accomplished golfer, snooker player and squash player. He took great delight in Westmeath’s All-Ireland minor victory in 1995 and in the senior team’s Leinster championship triumph two years ago. He was also a proud man when his second cousin, Ray Silke, captained Galway to All-Ireland senior success in 1998.
Paddy was a former managing director of Dunne’s Tannery in Kinnegad which was the biggest business of its kind in the country at the time, and gave considerable employment. He then went on to establish a restaurant, the well-known ‘The Dunner Arms’, which he late expanded into a pub, with accommodation as well.
It was a landmark stopping-off point on the road from Dublin to the West, and a hugely popular location for parties and functions. Paddy remained in business there until the 1980s when he retired and moved to live in Trim.

Jack Looram (Streamstown)
Jack was well-known in Scor circles and, for many years, along with his great friend the late Peter McKnight, treaded the Scor stage. Although they were only in the winners’ enclosure once, they always entertained and Jack’s passing marks the end of an era for Scor in the St. Joseph’s club.

Jim Eliffe (Loughnavalley and Milltown)
Jim was synonymous with the GAA in Milltown and Loughnavalley. Of farming stock, he began his playing career with Milltown as there was no club in his native Loughnavalley at the time.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Milltown were a major force in Westmeath senior football and Jim was a dashing half back on the championship winning teams of 1938 and ’42. He was selected for county duty on many occasions around the same time.
When Loughnavalley won the junior championship in 1950, Jim was a pivotal figure on the team at centre half back. He went on to serve as club secretary for many years and during the 1970s and 1980s, was a team selector.
In 1989, Jim was the recipient of the ‘Hall of Fame’ award and remained an avid supporter of club and county up until his death. In later years, he had three ambitions – to see in the new Millennium, to reach the age of 90 and to witness Westmeath win a Leinster senior football title. The latter two were realised in 2004, not long before his passing.

Francie Fagan (Castletown-Finea)
People in North Westmeath were shocked to learn of the death of Francie Fagan at the age of 57 last June. Francie died in tragic circumstances the day after he had travelled to Thurles to see Westmeath play Tipperary in the All-Ireland football qualifiers.
As well as being an avid GAA supporter, the deceased was a great Irish dancing and music enthusiast, and he was treasurer of the local Clann Lir (Castlepollard) branch of Comhaltas. Francie was a brother of former Westmeath dual star, Mickey Fagan, who enjoyed lengthy playing careers with Castlepollard and Castletown-Finea.

Marty Moore (Chicago)
Marty was a brother of Eamon Moore from Tudenham, Mullingar. Eamon’s five sons and one daughter have had an involvement in the local GAA scene at one stage or another. Ned had the distinction of captaining Mullingar Shamrocks to four consecutive senior football championship successes between 1992 and ’95, and was a Westmeath selector during Brendan Lowry’s time as manager. Jim and John are both heavily involved in the GAA in London and New York respectively.
A native of Dunmore, Co. Galway, Marty lived for almost 60 years in Chicago where he was married to Kathleen and had a family of three sons and two daughters. Marty and Kathleen had only visited Ireland in August 2004 for Eamon Moore’s 80th birthday party.

Dick Power (Cullion)
Cullion hurling club mourned the loss of one of its greatest servants on January 3 last. For many years, Dick was a driving force behind the development of the Cullion club along with people such as Austin Murray, Noel Kenny and the late John Corroon. In particular, he made an outstanding contribution to the building of the club’s first clubhouse.
A native of Moyleroe, Delvin, he was involved with the 1964 Feis Cup winning team as a selector and, along with his brothers, was jointly responsible for many developments in the greater Cullion area over the years.
Dick was a staunch supporter of the club’s juvenile activities and was always willing to bring young hurlers to matches in his Austin A40 car. He was always the players’ first choice driver, not just because of his pleasant and endearing manner, but because of his huge generosity. His reward to players was a visit to the shop on the way home after a game where he would treat those travelling with him to ice cream, lemonade and sweets.
Dick was also a devoted Westmeath gael and was always keen to see players from Cullion represented on the county hurling team.

John Deehan (Moate)
John, who was in his 89th year, was the honorary vice-president of the Moate All-Whites club at the time of his death last September. Jack, as he was affectionately known, was a stalwart of the great Moate team of the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of the youngest members of the side which won Moate their second senior championship in 1936, and was an even more influential figure when the All-Whites beat Milltown and Gibbonstown respectively to clinch a championship and league double in 1943.
During this golden era, Moate boasted some of the best footballers in the county, including the legendary Paddy Guinan and Paddy Mullins, as well as members of the Gillivan, Coady and Broder families.
Jack also played in the 1937, ’39 and ’45 championship finals which all ended in disappointment. Moate actually beat Kinnegad in the latter final, but lost out when Kinnegad lodged an objection afterwards. The All-Whites gained some measure of consolation when they defeated the same opposition in the league final later that same year.
Around the time Jack hung up his boots, Moate’s football fortunes began to decline, but the purchase of what is now known as Hogan Park helped put the club back on the map again.

Jack Lyster (Rochfortbridge)
Jack, who died on October 6 last, was regarded as one of the best footballers ever to emerge from Rochfortbridge and was among Westmeath’s most prominent players during the 1950s.
Early in his county career, he played in attack alongside the likes of Sonny Kearney and Ned Martin. But by 1952, he had made the switch to defence and was a regular at centre half back for many years. Jack was regarded as a no-nonsense defender and was a strong fielder of the ball.
In one notable National League game against Mayo in 1953, he scored four points as Westmeath beat the Westerners by that margin, and in the following games against Longford and Sligo, he was also on the scoresheet. In Westmeath’s final league game of that campaign against Meath at Kells, Jack scored 1-1 as the Lake County came away with a creditable draw. This was in the era of Peter McDermott and Brian Smyth, both of whom scored in the same game.
In 1955, Westmeath beat Wicklow by a point in the Leinster championship and qualified for the semi-final where they lost to All-Ireland champions Meath, and Jack Lyster was centre half back on that team.
Another legendary figure, Fr Patrick Delaney, helped to facilitate the merger of Rochfortbridge and Gibbonstown which became known as St. Mary’s. The fledgling club beat a star-studded Athlone side to win the county championship in 1950. They won the league, championship and Feis Cup in 1953, and Jack was a pivotal figure alongside his brother Jim, who was also a regular on the county team during the same period.
Jack was very highly regarded in the community, and news of his passing after a very short period of failing health came as a great shock to Gaels throughout the county.
A minute’s silence was observed in his memory before the 2005 senior football final between The Downs and Garrycastle, after which there was a strong round of applause, showing the great respect in which Jack Lyster was held.

Mattie Greville (Killucan)
Mattie was a hugely respected figure in the Killucan/Raharney area, and his passion in life was Gaelic Games.
While he loved football and took great satisfaction from Killucan’s intermediate championship success last October, he enjoyed nothing better than a good game of hurling and was one of Raharney’s most loyal, vociferous and enthusiastic supporters. He supported the Deelsiders through thick and thin and rejoiced in their many successes at various levels down the years.

Pat Dunleavy (Milltown)
Although he only played with the club for a short period, Pat left an indelible mark on Milltown GAA. He was a member of the Defence Forces for over two decades and served on a number of occasions with the United Nations in the Congo and Cyprus.
Pat played for Milltown in the early 1980s and captained the side in 1981, usually lining out at midfield or full forward. He also played with the St. Enda’s club in Dublin where he displayed the same level of sportsmanship and commitment.
Those who played alongside him were privileged to have shared a dressing-room with such an honourable man.

Jimmy Duignan (St. Loman’s)
Jimmy will always hold a special place in the annals of the St. Loman’s club after playing at midfield on the first Mental Hospital team to win a senior football championship in 1948.
A native of Drumlish in Co. Longford, Jimmy received his education at St. Mel’s College before joining the nursing staff of St. Loman’s Hospital in the mid-1940s. He played senior football for both Longford and Westmeath, and was centre back on the Westmeath team which lost the 1949 Leinster final to Meath. He was also on the Mental Hospital team that was beaten in that year’s county final by Athlone, and played out the remainder of his inter-county career with Longford.
Though slight in stature, Jimmy was well able to look after himself. He was an outstanding footballer and was a powerful kicker of a dead ball. He was totally committed and his fearless approach to every opponent was inspirational to his colleagues.
He worked in St. Loman’s until 1953 when he emigrated to England, and won a senior championship medal with St. Vincent’s in ’54. The following year, he moved to Australia where he remained for 30 years. Jimmy returned to Ireland in 1985, living in Wicklow for a year, but failed to settle and returned to Melbourne where he lived for the rest of his life.

Tony Monaghan (The Downs)
Tony, who went to his eternal reward at a premature age last November, was a noted footballer with The Downs. Tony was a former work colleague of the late Adrian Murray at St. Loman’s Hospital and a minute’s silence was observed for both men prior to the Leinster club football championship clash between The Downs and Louth champions Mattock Rangers at Cusack Park.

John Corroon (Cullion)
Aged 76, John was a great lover of Gaelic Games, particularly hurling, and played for Cullion for many years. Indeed, the Corroon family name was synonymous with Cullion hurling as his brothers Mick and the late Kit also lined out for the club during the 1960s.
Off the pitch, John was a key figure in local fundraising efforts for the GAA, and a charitable man for many other organisations and causes. He was also a successful businessman and was the driving force behind Corroon’s Sawmills which, at one time, was the largest employer in Mullingar.

Mick Brady (Castlepollard)
Mick was an integral member of the Castlepollard team which won the 1947 junior hurling championship. His passing means that there are now just three remaining links with that team – Finey Farrell, Paddy Boylan and Frank Devine.
Lining out at full forward, Mick was one of the youngest members of that winning side which provided a much-needed boost to Castlepollard hurling after many years of decline. The team included some of the old stars of the 1930s, who stayed on to provide support for the emerging players.
Mick was proud of his part in the success which arguably saved the Castlepollard club from going out of existence, and was equally thrilled to receive his 50th anniversary memento in 1997 along with other surviving members of the team.
He was one of the unsung heroes of ‘Pollard, and fittingly, a guard of honour was formed by Castlepollard club members at his funeral.

Harry Coghill (Tubberclair)
Harry had many interests in life, including politics, boxing, dancing, drama and Gaelic Games. A staunch Fianna Fail man, he played underage football with Tubberclair and was a lifelong supporter of the club.

Paddy Cunneen (Raharney)
Raharney club members were saddened to learn of the passing of Paddy last September. Paddy, from Craddenstown, was a former Raharney hurler and his son Pat is the current chairman of the club.

Pat Tracey (Castletown-Geoghegan)
The Castletown-Geoghegan club mourned the passing of their club president Pat Tracey in January. In his younger days, Pat was a noted player and was an integral member of the Castletown team that won a three in-a-row of senior hurling championships in the 1950s. He also represented his county in senior hurling and played underage football with Ballinagore.
When Castletown won the first of their three in-a-row in 1956, Pat returned home from England to play in the final against Rickardstown and had an outstanding game, despite being pitted against the legendary John ‘Jobber’ McGrath. Pat’s performance was all the more remarkable considering that he cycled to the game.
After his playing career ended, Pat served his club as a selector and enjoyed nothing better on the long summer evenings than watching the players train and play hurling. He also enjoyed the underage games and always encouraged the youngsters in Castletown to play hurling.

Pat Hogg (Castletown-Geoghegan)
The deceased was a lifelong member of the Castletown-Geoghegan club and served as chairman on two occasions during the 1970s. Pat was a popular and highly respected chairman and always put the interests of the club before everything else. He was a proud Castletown man and took great delight from the club’s many successes down the years.
A minute’s silence was observed as a mark of respect before Castletown’s last senior match of 2005 against Raharney in mid-December.

Kevin Bannon (Moate)
Moate GAA stalwart Kevin Bannon passed away just a few days short of his 84th birthday in early February. He was Honorary Vice-President of the Moate All-Whites club at the time of his death.
A lifelong club member, Kevin came to prominence as a player in the early 1940s and was part of the team which won a senior league and championship double in 1943. Moate retained their league title in 1944, and the following year, were controversially denied championship success. Moate beat Kinnegad by 1-5 to 0-5 in the senior final, but the latter were awarded the title on an objection.
Some satisfaction was gained, however, when Moate defeated Kinnegad in the 1945 league final, which wasn’t played until the following year. Kevin also came to the attention of the county selectors around this time, and wore the Westmeath jersey for a short time.
Kevin was appointed Moate senior team captain in 1948, a position he retained into the 1950s, but emigration took its toll on the All-Whites who went into decline and didn’t come to the fore again until the 1970s.
Kevin remained an avid supporter of both Moate and Westmeath after his playing career ended, and he was a proud man when Dessie Dolan paid him a visit with the Delaney Cup on the behalf of the Westmeath team in late 2004.