Death of a great Offaly and Rhode football hero

THE death has taken place of a great Offaly and Rhode football hero from the 1970s. Martin Heavey, a rock solid, ultra reliable defender that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1971 and 1972, passed away on Sunday after a lengthy battle with illness.

A genuinely decent, dignified man who endeared himself to all, Martin Heavey had a lovely gentle manner about him and was one of life's true gentlemen.

A long time employee at Rhode Power Station, he leaves a lasting contribution to his home county and community.

His senior county career for Offaly was comparatively brief. He played 38 league and championship games from 1967 to 1973. He made his league debut in a league loss to Wicklow in 1967. That was at wing forward but it was at wing back where he established himself. He didn't play in 1968 or 1969 and it was the 1970/1971 league when he secured himself on the team.

His championship debut was the 1971 Leinster first round win over Longford,, when he came onto the team for the injured Sean Grogan and he was an ever present for three championship seasons, 1971, '72 and 1973. His last game was a league defeat by Kerry in December 1973.

His career co-incided with a great spell for Offaly football as they won their first All-Ireland senior football title in 1971, retaining it a year later with a fantastic replay win over Kerry. He won a third Leinster senior football medal in 1973 but their ambitions of three in a row were ended by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final – Offaly were All-Ireland favourites that year and entered a valley period before the great team of the 1980s began to emerge from the second half of the 1970s onwards.

Martin Heavey was not one of the superstars of that great team. His name was not up in lights in the way that Willie Bryan, Tony McTague, Eugene Mulligan, Nick Clavin, Paddy McCormack etc were but his importance was as profound in its own very meaningful way. His importance is reflected by the fact that he was an automatic selection in those few years, a model of consistency who was one of the first men marked down for the team sheet, always wearing the number 7 shirt.

He was a great no nonsense footballer, a very good reader of the game with an ability to be in the right place at the right time. He didn't have the same reputation as some of the hard men in that brilliant Offaly defence but he was as hard as nails, teak tough and he did his job almost every single day. He was a great man to mark his man, keep him out of the game and he did the simple thing so effectively – the sight of him pulling on loose ball, and if an attacker had his hands down, that was his hard luck, was a familiar one in those years.

He was a great example of a man who worked hard, was so honest and made the most of his ability – he didn't play minor or u-21 football for Offaly but grasped his chance with both hands at senior level. Those were attributes that he brought to the table later in life as a coach of so many Rhode underage teams.

He was a ferociously proud Rhode man and his home club was at the centre of everything he did. He won his first Senior Football Championship medal with Rhode in 1966, playing at wing forward in the final win over Clara. He was still wing forward when they retained the Dowling Cup in 1967 and was back in his best position, wing back, when they recaptured it in 1969, beating an unlucky Erin Rovers in a replayed final.

He wasn't on the team when Rhode won again in 1975, embarking on a long 23 year famine that only ended in 1998 – sparking a spell of unprecedented dominance. He could have been still playing but had more or less finished his playing career at that stage and was a selector in '75, alongside manager Paddy Kerrigan and his long-time playing colleague Eugene Mulligan. He also served as club secretary or treasurer in those years.

He won an All-Ireland 7-a-side tournament with Rhode in 1970, with an outstanding team that included fellow Offaly heroes in the captain Eugene Mulligan, Jody Gunning and Paddy McCormack.

The end of his football career was only the end of the first stage of his GAA career. He served county and club as a selector and official for several years. He became an Offaly senior football selector under his fellow Rhode hero Paddy McCormack in 1975 – McCormack beat Tullamore's Alo Kelly 22-20 in a vote for the position and the time was probably not ideal for that as they were now managing so many players they had soldiered with for so long. Heavey actually withdrew as a selector that November in protest after the team was picked before the “appointed time” for a game with Longford and initially declined an invitation to return before coming back.

Paddy McCormack lasted just one championship season as manager and was replaced after the 1976 campaign by one Eugene McGee. Martin Heavey returned as one of Eugene McGee's selectors and served for 1977 alongside Michael Guinan, Clara; John Buckley, Ballycumber and John Coughlan, Belmont. Heavey was not there when Offaly were beaten by Dublin in the 1979 Leinster final – there was a lot of turbulence and movement with Eugene McGee's selectors in those years building up to the 1982 All-Ireland win.

He served as a mentor with other Offaly teams over the years. Him and Murt Connor were selectors on the first Offaly U14 football team in 1972 and some of them went on to win All-Ireland medals in 1982.

He served on various County Board committees, including finance, in the 1970s and had a great appetite for work.

His contribution to Rhode was immense. His passion was with working with teams and while he served very capably with successful adult teams, his true calling was with underage players. He worked with generations of young footballers in Rhode in their formative years from the 1970s into the 2000s as they entered their teens, playing at u-10 and 12 level. He coached some great footballers, many of them stalwarts during Rhode's great run in from 1998, into the 2000s, 2010s and onto the 2020s, and his input on their career was considerable. He had a great way with young people, encouraging them all the way and was a very positive influence. Many of them won Community Games and Feile titles under him, going onto enjoy great success up the underage ranks to U-21 and continuing it into senior.

Himself and Liam Swaine were the stalwarts, coaching young people from six years of age each Saturday. They were doing this in Rhode well before it became almost mandatory in all clubs and this was a definite factor in their great success story of the last 25 years or so – the work him and Liam Swaine did in the 1990s and 2000s is part of folklore in the area. He remained immersed in all aspects of the clubs until recent years when his health went against him.

He was a loyal, steadfast man. He enjoyed attending re-unions of the 1971-1972 team and him and his wife Geraldine were regulars on their annual holiday abroad for years from 1996 – the first to Portugal was organised to mark the silver jubilee of the 1971 win.

He was engaging, personable company with a great sense of humour and a quick wit. He was a great conversationalist, very easy and pleasant to be with and leaves great memories.

One man with a rich store of memories of Martin is his former Rhode and Offaly colleague, Eugene Mulligan, now chairman of Rhode GAA Club.

Mr Mulligan remarked on Sunday afternoon: “I was deeply sorry to learn of Martin's death. He was a great club man, a great Rhode person and a very loyal county man. He did trojan work in Rhode over all the years, initially as secretary-treasurer when him, Gerry Reidy and Seamus Murphy kept the club going.

“He trained every young lad in Rhode for over 20 years with Liam Swaine. They were doing this every Saturday morning before anyone else got going. They coached anyone who was available from six to 15-16 and they did that religiously year in, year out. A lot of the present day footballers benefited from that. He was still involved up to a few years ago. Every club needs people like Martin and we will miss him.”

A loyal, devoted husband to his beloved wife Geraldine and father to Eimear, Ronan, Ciaran and Orlagh, he was in his early 80s. Martin will be deeply regretted and sadly missed by his loving family: wife Geraldine, children Eimear, Ronan, Ciarán and Orlagh, grandchildren Sam, Fin, Jack, Charlotte, Millie, Willow-Jane and Louie, sons-in-law Andy and Gary, daughters-in-law Lorna and Mairead, sisters Mary-Brigid (Brazil) and Margaret (Doherty), sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and especially the members of the Offaly 1971 & 1972 All Ireland winning teams.

Martin will repose at Larkin's Funeral Home Edenderry this Tuesday from 3pm with removal to St Peter's Church, Rhode at 6.15pm arriving for 7 o'clock prayer service. His Funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday at 12 noon, followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery. 

May he rest in peace.