Iconic Offaly GAA personality celebrates 90th birthday

ONE of Offaly's most cherished personalties celebrated his 90^th birthday in style last weekend. A famous GAA activist in Tullamore, Eamon Fox marked the milestone at a party hosted by former work colleagues from Rehab in the town at Tyrrellspass Castle.

Remarkably fresh and active, Eamon Fox regaled the gathering of old friends and work colleagues with a variety of stories and memories. The workers have retained a very close bond over the years, meeting annually and their latest reunion co-incided with Eamon's 90^th, which was on Saturday.

Pictured above:  Yvonne Bracken and Adrian Stewart with Eamon Fox at his 90^th birthday celebration last weekend.

One of Tullamore's most familiar and popular individuals, Eamon is best known for his GAA exploits. He was a senior county dual star in the 1950s and 1960s. While he is remembered primarily as a hurling man and the small ball game was his big passion, he was a very dedicated and capable footballer as well, giving terrific service to his beloved Tullamore, winning senior medals with them in both codes in the 1950s and '60s.

He was not far away from the first great Offaly senior football team, the 1960 and '61 Leinster champions. He made ten league and championship appearances for Offaly from 1955 to 1964. His only championship appearance was at wing back in the 1960 championship win over Carlow as Offaly went onto win their first ever senior provincial title

He really made his mark in hurling, playing 40 league and championship games from 1955 to 1969. He played in attack, midfield and defence for Offaly hurlers and was wing back on one of the county's favourite teams, the 1969 one that ran Kilkenny so close in a long recalled Leinster final. Offaly lost by 3-9 to 0-16 in a final remembered with huge regret by that team and the county had to wait another eleven years until 1980 to win their first Leinster senior hurling title – a number of that team were in their veteran stages, including Eamon, and that was a big factor in the 1970s being a barren decade apart from a crucial 1978 Leinster U21 hurling win.

He had the distinction of playing for Offaly senior footballers and hurlers on the one day in 1960 – playing at midfield in the National Hurling League loss to Laois in Tullamore and wing back in the National Football League win over Laois.

Pictured above: Eamon Fox with former work colleagues from Rehab in Tullamore at his 80^th birthday celebration last weekend. Left to right Patricia Duffin, Rose Feery, Mary McNamara, Patricia Dunne, Geraldine Brosnahan, May Scally, Michael O'Hanlon, Nuala Flanagan, Rosemary Waite, Yvonne Bracken, Eamonn Fox, Bernie Mann, Adrian Stewart, Frank Feery, Adele Brady. Missing is Frances McLoughlin.

While his devotion to Tullamore GAA is beyond question, he also contributed powerfully to a historic Ballinamere championship – he won a Senior Hurling Championship medal with Tullamore in 1959 and a Junior Hurling Championship with Ballinamere the same year. He had been in England in 1957 and 1958 and when he returned home, he lined out with both clubs. Ballinamere's win put them up senior and he unsurprisingly then gave his allegiance to Tullamore.

He also won Senior Hurling Championship medals with Tullamore in 1955 and 1964 while he collected senior football ones in 1954, 1956 and 1963.

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After retirement, he served the club in a variety of capacities, as a manager and selector on successful teams while he was also a very good referee during his own playing career – he was the referee at a notorious 1962 junior hurling game between the famous Blackwood Rovers (rahean parish) and Killoughey, a game long remembered for its violence as he had to abandon it near the end, with both clubs thrown out of the championship.