Louth's legendary kit man Charlie McAlester has passed away.

The Newtown Blues clubman brought kit management to a new level of professionalism during 35 years working with Louth teams and also had the honour of acting as kit manager to the Irish International Rules team.

He was forced to step down from his role three years ago, when he was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, Charlie has lost that battle but he will be fondly remembered as one of the Wee County's greatest servants and most-passionate supporters.

In November 2009, Louth's much-loved kit manager stepped down after 35 years looking after the Wee County's gear at all levels.

The inimitable Charlie had become an instantly-recognisable face at all Louth matches over the years, having given incredible service to the GAA. "It's a very, very sad day for me, calling it a day after 35 years," he said at the time.

"It was an extreme honour that was first bestowed upon me by the late Peadar Kearney and the camaraderie, friendship and courtesy I received from everybody over the years was amazing and made the job a great deal easier."

hoganstand.com and The Wee County Yearbook published the following feature in 2010 to acknowledge Charlie's inestimable contribution to the GAA in the Wee County:

The end of an era for Louth as Charlie departs

It was certainly the end of an era for Louth GAA earlier this year when the county's inimitable kit manager Charlie McAlester announced his retirement after 37 years' unbroken service to the Wee County. We caught up with one of the Association's best-known and most-loved characters to look back at his astonishing service to his beloved Louth and the GAA in general.

There's only one Charlie McAlester, that's for sure. Over the course of almost four decades of incredible service to Louth GAA, the Drogheda man has become an institution in his native county. When it was announced in the twilight of 2009 that Charlie was stepping aside as Louth's kit manager due to ongoing health problems, the news was greeted with sadness all over the Wee County - and beyond. There will never be another Charlie McAlester and his departure from the county camp represents the true ending of an era.

Charlie was born in Dundalk but has lived in Drogheda since he was four months old. Safe to call him a Droghedean, so! As the county's trailblazing kitman, he gave 37 years' unbroken service to Louth GAA, covering a multitude of football and hurling teams at all grades from senior right down to U14. As kit men go, Charlie was the original and the best.

He washed the Louth gear at home in his own house on a voluntary basis - and never accepted a penny or a cent for all his years' service. Louth's gear is provided on a complimentary basis by O'Neill's and it was Charlie who negotiated this deal - the first of its kind in Ireland. "I suffered a brain haemorrhage and I had to go to hospital in Dublin for check-ups," he recalls. "I gave O'Neill's in Capel Street a call by chance to see if there would be a possibility of purchasing shorts and socks for the Louth senior team. At that time, they only had jerseys. I bought the shorts and socks myself and continued to buy the gear for the next two years.

"Then the late Seamus Staunton contacted me out of the blue and asked me to drop in to O'Neill's next time I was in Dublin. He said that from now on they would supply the Louth gear for free. That's 33 years ago and in that time Louth County Board has had zero expense for gear or for cleaning it. Even up to today, O'Neill's have continued to supply gear to Louth county teams and I'm going out with my head held high knowing that they are also going to be there for the next three years."

Charlie was honoured when he was first given the job by the late Peadar Kearney. He represented the Louth squad and the Louth people with tremendous care and great pride for 37 years and loved every minute of it, despite the hard work. "I enjoyed it immensely and made many friends and never had a row with anybody in 37 years," he notes.

"I went to Australia four times - with the seniors and U17s - as Irish kit manager, which was a supreme honour. Again, O'Neill's gave me the gear for free. I have a huge dept of gratitude to Pat Daly in Croke Park for giving me that job and also to our own Paddy Clarke, the former Louth manager, who put my name forward in the first place. Paddy knew I was very professional in the manner in which I looked after the gear and he recommended me on that basis.

"However, I must say that despite the extreme honour of serving the Irish team, Louth has no equal as far as I'm concerned. You are serving your own county on a regular basis. I've always said that I'm a Louth man and I've always been proud to say that. I get a great sense of satisfaction in being from Louth."

Along the way, Charlie has suffered more than his fair share of health setbacks - particularly cruel blows for a man who neither smokes nor drinks. As well as the aforementioned brain haemorrhage, he suffered a stroke, a collapsed back (at an U21 match against Kildare in Navan) and diabetes - and now he's facing the biggest battle of all, having been diagnosed with cancer. "It's a huge kick in the teeth but I will fight it to the bitter end no matter how difficult it's going to be," he says bravely. "I hope I can make it. It's going to be tough but I'm made of strong stuff.

"The whole GAA community has been magnificent since I got the bad news nine months ago. I've received cards and greetings and messages from all over the country, including Pat Daly and Aine Gibney in Croke Park who came to visit me in St Luke's. Frank Lynch and his family and Eamonn McEneaney were incredibly good to me in my darkest months with the Louth team. The inner strength and support those people gave me is the reason I am still here today. When you're in a corner, the GAA really rallies around you. It has hurt me an awful lot to have to call it a day with Louth, but I sincerely wish my successor all the best and I will be available to help him any way I can.

"It's the end of the road for me with Louth but I can honestly say I have no regrets." Was Charlie never tempted to ask for a few bob, though? Why did he do all this work for free? "I have a strong nationalistic ideology intertwined with a love of the GAA and I loved serving the Association. To me, opening Croke Park to other sports was sacrosanct. After having those supporters standing on Hill 16, the GAA is no longer the organisation I was brought up with, but I will still rally behind them despite this."

Charlie has Louth GAA coursing through his veins. His grand-uncle, who was also the first Louth secretary, played on the very first Louth team in 1887 and was also a member of the Gaelic League, the IRB and the Northern Brigade. The Association is an intrinsic part of Charlie McAlester's identity and he served it with a passion and a strong fervour. Charlie is old school, the last of his kind in many respects

He can look back on his epic stint as Louth kit manager with unbelievable self satisfaction: "In all my years looking after county teams, I never had one complaint. When nobody complains, that's the best compliment you can get. O'Neill's have been incredibly good to Louth and I would go so far as to say that without them Louth would have been in financial trouble years ago. I had a great rapport with all the Louth players and managers, with whom I travelled around the country. I had two washing machines and two driers at home and they were on the go 24/7. Some people said it wasn't a house at all; it was a laundry!

"I made a lot of great friends and I will always treasure that. They will be with me 'til the Almighty calls me ashore. All the managers, players and selectors were delighted with how I did the job and they didn't have to worry about anything outside of the actual team itself. Patsy McArdle did it before me and Joe Harmon would have been with Louth in 1957 when they won Sam, but they probably had it a little easier because in those days there were just jerseys - no socks and shorts - or leisurewear."

Under Charlie's watch, every jersey was neatly folded from 1-30. Twenty footballs were brought to each training session - and 20 balls were brought back! There were a multitude of other tasks and Charlie handled them all with organisation, enthusiasm and energy. "I always treated the gear with the utmost respect," he continues. "A county jersey is special. When you pull on a Louth shirt, you're representing 125,000 people.

"I knew every player who played for Louth in the past 37 years and it was a pleasure to rub shoulders with players who are representing the county I love, the elite in Louth football at U14, U15, U16, minor, U21, junior and senior. Being part of that gave me great enjoyment and I still maintain that Louth are the best. There's nothing like your own county.

"My attitude always was that if you treat people with respect you will earn their respect. You earn respect; you can't buy it."

Even the richest man in Ireland couldn't purchase the high esteem in which Charlie McAlester is held in Louth and much further afield. He will be remembered affectionately as one of the longest-serving intercounty ambassadors in GAA history. As he faces into the toughest battle of his life, Hogan Stand sends Charlie the best regards of every Gael in Ireland. Tweet

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