“The Gift” that keeps giving for Offaly hurling club

ONE of Tullamore's greatest hurling personalties lined out for his club in another year when he was in goals as they beat Gracefield in the Junior “C” Hurling Competition last week.

Damien Fox has now played for Tullamore in six decades – they beat Gracefield by 2-17 to 2-9 in last week's win.

64 years old and at an age when most people are contemplating the free travel pass rather than a game of hurling, he has been a terrific Tullamore stalwart. Fox has played also played a lot of football for them but hurling is his true love and he has been very successful and in demand as a coach and manager.

Known fondly as “The Gift”, he played most of his hurling in the forward line and was accurate from play and frees but went back to goals in the winter of his career. He was between the posts for the highlight of his career when Tullamore came from “nowhere” to win the Senior Hurling Championship in 2009.

They had not been on the short list of contenders at the start of the season but gathered great momentum as the season went on and shocked Kilcormac-Killoughey in the final. They showed they were no flash in the pan by returning to the final in 2010, when Coolderry beat them.

Shane Dooley was their star man in those years but the experience and leadership of Fox in the goals and player-manager Kevin Martin were instrumental to their success – Fox was also a selector and coach that year.

2009 was Tullamore's first Senior Hurling Championship win in 45 years. Damien's famous father Eamon had been a star in that 1964 win. A former Offaly dual senior hurler and footballer, Eamon turned 90 earlier this year and – remarkably fresh, he was seen cycling up High Street in Tullamore just last week with the energy of some people thirty years younger!!!

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Damien Fox was one of the star players in the forward line when Tullamore returned to senior ranks in 1990 – they won the Intermediate and Senior “B” Hurling Championship in 1989 and 1990 and have managed to stay senior since then, though there have been plenty of years when they were a lot closer to relegation than champions.

He played U21 hurling for Offaly in 1982 and has continued to feature in the lower grades after his senior club career ended in the 2010s.