Death of legendary Offaly and Tullamore hurling figure

THE death has taken place of one of Offaly's greatest hurling personalties, Andy Gallagher. The Tullamore man passed away on Monday, just a couple of weeks short of his 90th birthday.

He had remained active until recent months, a regular visitor to his beloved O'Connor Park as he enjoyed hurling and football games there.

Ironically news of his death broke while the Offaly GAA County Board were meeting on Monday evening. He had been a stable at those meetings for decades and chairman Tom Parlon paid a glowing tribute to him for his contribution to Offaly hurling.

He was one of the most important Offaly hurling figures of all time. He was a rock solid Offaly senior hurling goalkeeper for years in the 1950s and '60s, he was the county manager for much of the 1970s into the 1980s, a selector in the 1990 and the “veteran” stages of his GAA career was in an administrative capacity as he served as County Board treasurer, joint treasurer or assistant treasure for much of the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s – he first served as a County Board officer when elected assistant secretary in 1973.

He also served as a Leinster Council delegate for several years and ran unsuccessfully for Leinster Council chairman in 1999, when future GAA president Nicky Brennan was elected.

He achieved lasting fame as the manager of the Offaly team that won their first Leinster Senior Hurling Championship in 1980 and first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1981. Gallagher and the coach, Diarmuid Healy from Kilkenny worked very well in tandem and their double act worked the oracle.

Healy has received a lot of credit for his work at that time and there is no doubt he had a profound influence on changing Offaly's stars. Apart from his coaching expertise, he had a big impact on the mental side of things, working on player's self belief and convincing them that they could beat Kilkenny

It was a bit of a bone of contention for Andy Gallagher that his contribution was not written up in the same lights and it is only right that it be acknowledged. Firstly he was the manager and his influence was also profound. He had a huge, all consuming passion for Offaly hurling, he had years of experience and without his local knowledge of players, the club scene and its dynamics and everything else, Healy would have been hurling into the wind.

Secondly, Gallagher was instrumental in Healy being recruited. While it was then County Board chairman Fr Sean Heaney who discovered Healy and goalkeeper Damien Martin who initially proposed that an outside coach be brought in, it would not have happened without Gallagher's approval and desire for that extra inspiration.

Thirdly, Gallagher had one other pivotal influence in the 1980 breakthrough. For years, Kilkenny and Wexford had been seeded in different sides of the draw but the Tullamore man proposed at a Leinster Council meeting that it be an open draw. This was passed and this seismic decision meant that Offaly didn't have to meet a big gun until the Leinster final. By that stage, Offaly's confidence had mushroomed in the wake of wins over Dublin and Laois and on a truly magical day in Croke Park, Kilkenny were beaten as Offaly won their first Leinster senior hurling title.

They couldn't come down from that high in time for the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway but a year later, they got a second chance against them, over turning a 0-13 to 1-5 half time deficit with a sensational second half display.

Those 1980 and 1981 wins created a wave of hysteria in Offaly and sparked off an incredible two decades.

Gallagher stayed on as manager until 1983 when Healy took over. He was a regular as selector for several years after that, serving with Healy and a few few other managers: he had a huge appetite for hard work.

He is the second great Tullamore GAA figure to die in a short space of time, following in the footsteps of Phil O'Reilly and these two men were such forces of personality in all aspects of Tullamore life for nine decades – it is ironic that they should pass so close to each other and their dual loss is very much the end of an era in the town.

He was a fiercely proud Tullamore man and gave a life time of service to the club. He was a club secretary during his own playing career in the 1960s and served on committee for years. He was club secretary from 1965 to 1969 and the big thing to happen under his watch was the purchase of the land for O'Brien Park and the start of its development – the social centre was built there in the early 1970s and O'Brien Park is now the headquarters of Tullamore GAA Club

He managed hurling teams in the club, he was one of their most passionate hurling enthusiasts and he was the most visible of these.

As a player, he enjoyed underage success with Tullamore in the 1950s. He was in goals when they won the U16 Hurling Championship in 1952 and captained their minor footballers to championship success in 1953 as they won a minor hurling and football double and he also won an intermediate football medal that year. He was in goals when Tullamore won the Senior Hurling Championship in 1955 and was also in great form as they added titles in 1959 and 1964 before embarking on a long 45 year famine.

He was a sub as Tullamore won the Senior Football Championship in 1956 and was corner back when they reached the summit again in 1963.

He was a long serving Offaly senior hurling goalkeeper, making over sixty appearances from 1955 to 1969. He passed over the big hurl to Damien Martin in 1969 and the St Rynagh's man was between the posts when Offaly suffered a narrow, long remembered defeat to Kilkenny in the 1969 Leinster senior hurling final – Gallagher was the sub goalkeeper.

His county career co-incided with a fairly barren spell for Offaly with far more bad days than good though he was in goals for a very important, confidence boosting win over Tipperary in 1966.

Hurling was very much his game of choice but he also had a genuine passion for football. He played a lot of football for Tullamore, winning several medals.

After the end of his playing career, management was a natural calling for him and he became the Offaly senior hurling manager in the mid 1970s. He has stamped his presence on the Offaly hurling story in a very special way and like anyone who has true longevity in the GAA, the road did not always run straight and smooth.

Despite incredible success in the 1990s, it was a volatile time in the Offaly hurling world with tempers frayed and patience in short supply. Eamon Cregan secured his place in Offaly GAA history when leading them to the 1994 All-Ireland hurling title, beating his home county of Limerick in the final.

Amazingly, a messy, ugly storm erupted when Cregan was initially put forward as manager at the end of 1992 and Gallagher was in the eye of this. There was no issue with Cregan becoming manager but some delegates were not happy with the selectors put forward. Andy Gallagher, Drumcullen's Mick Spain and Kinnitty's Pat Delaney were initially nominated with one more to be appointed but at an incredibly acrimonious meeting, war erupted.

With a visibly shocked chairman Brendan Ward caught unawares and trying to steer things in the right direction, St Rynagh's delegate Patsy McNally proposed that the manager be appointed but they hold off on the selectors. McNally argued that two of the selectors had been “in and out” for the past several years. This clearly referred to Andy Gallagher and Mick Spain and while their appointment was eventually ratified after a heated debate on a vote of roughly 32-12 on a show of hands (an official tally was not given but this correspondent did a head count as quickly as he could at that meeting), the fall out was immense.

Mick Spain resigned as Drumcullen chairman as his club delegate had supported calls for the appointment of selectors to be deferred – they explained that their only reason for doing so was that the full package wasn't ready and that they were of course happy with Spain being a selector.

Gallagher and Spain immediately stepped aside as selectors after the meeting and despite being asked to change their mind, they were badly hurt by it all. A subsequent board meeting unanimously agreed that they be asked back but they stayed out for 1993 with Pat Delaney and Pat McLoughney (Coolderry) working with Cregan.

The wheel, however, turned later in 1993 when Andy Gallagher, Mick Spain, Pat McLougney and Pat Moylan (St Rynagh's) were appointed as selectors – Pat Moylan subsequently opted out in early 1994 and was replaced by his club man Paudge Mulhare and they were there for the 1994 All-Ireland final win. A proposal by St Rynagh's that the county champions have a member on the management team had been passed at an earlier meeting and was only thrown out on a vote, 44-15 at the next meeting – St Rynagh's were asked to withdraw it but insisted on it going to a vote.

It was certainly strange times considering how good Offaly were in the 1990s. Andy Gallagher continued to work with Eamon Cregan until he stepped down after a loss to Wexford in 1996. Tipperary man John McIntrye was appointed as manager for 1997, serving only one term when the County Board jettisoned him – he later returned for a few years as manager in the 2000s. Again, there was messing over selectors in 1997. Lusmagh's Jim Troy, Seir Kieran's Willie Dooley and St Rynagh's Sean White were nominated as McIntyre's selectors but then Tullamore chairman John Dowling threw a grenade into the process when he proposed that Andy Gallagher be added to the package. He did it without Gallagher's approval and got no seconder to his proposal – Gallagher took it on the chin, and he always possessed that important capacity in the GAA world, telling the next meeting that he bore “absolutely no animosity whatsoever”.

Andy was a selector when Offaly reached the All-Ireland U20 hurling final in 1992, losing to Waterford in a replay. Criticism of Andy Gallagher and the chairman Brendan Ward on the radio by the sponsor of the hurling championships, Pat Troy, a Kilcormac exile in Washington, had an immediate fallout with the County Board handing him back his sponsorship cheque of £2,500 and removing him as sponsor.

Andy Gallagher gave terrific service to the Offaly GAA County Board from the 1970s into the 2010s. He was first elected as board assistant secretary in 1973 and was Leinster Council delegate for several years – he was adept at fighting Offaly's corner at provincial level.

He became treasurer in 1992, defeating Clara's Mick Sheridan 42-24 in an extraordinary vote. Sheridan had resigned as joint treasurer after regular clashes with chairman Brendan Ward over fighting Clara's corner at the top table. Sheridan had an quick change of heart but Ward said his resignation had been accepted and the only way he could come back was to be elected. Sheridan duly put his name forward but Gallagher was also nominated – he had the backing of most officers and won the vote comfortably.

Gallagher stayed on as treasurer until 2014, and was also Leinster Council delegate for many of those years. His title alternated between joint treasurer, assistant treasurer and treasurer as the rules changed. When the rule limiting officers to five years in the one position was introduced in the early 2000s, Gallagher and Birr's Jimmy Hogan sidestepped this adroitly by switching between treasurer and assistant every few years.

Andy Gallagher was a scruplessly honest treasurer and every penny was accounted for. The County Board did get into financial trouble in the 2010s with complaints by businesses and others about them having to wait for payment. It led to then chairman Padraig Boland bringing it to a head by going to Croke Park for help and a series of crisis meetings to sort it all out. The problems had been a collective one, building over several years, and the Tullamore man was very involved in getting things sorted.

He had overseen the implementation of new budgeting systems and procedures for purchasing goods etc a few years earlier and was very dependable.

There was plenty of controversy for the County Board during his time and he had a hands on role in sorting some things out – after the senior football squad went on “strike” when Gerry Fahy resigned as manager in 2004, he was involved in the drafting of the Eugene McGee brokered ageement that brought the stand off to an end. He had a way of getting things done and you could not count the hours he gave to the GAA.

He was a terrific County Board worker and he kept coming back when defeated for contests. He was beaten in a vote for Leinster Council delegate in 1973, Central Council delegate in 2012. He served on various Leinster Council and national committees and even when he lost elections, his enthusiasm never wavered.

He was not afraid to step on toes and express his opinion forcefully, he did not back away from confrontations and hard words. His views were sincerely held and his only motivation was the well-being of Offaly GAA. As Offaly hurling went into recession in the 2000s, he did his best to galvanise the county. He had a row with Cumann na mBunscol in 2011 when he criticised the standard of coaching in schools at a board meeting.

Cumann na mBunscol came out with a strong defence of their work, and complained about the terminology used with St Rynagh's delegate and secondary school principal Paddy Scales. Paddy Scales had defended the work in schools and suggested that Offaly should be designated a “weaker county”.

That was more than Gallagher could bear and he told the Rynagh's man: “You are talking through your AH and have been for a number of years. What is going on in schools is ridiculous. There is no way we can stand over the calibre of our minor teams in the last number of years.”

Andy Gallagher refused to apologise to anyone at the next meeting, insisting that the “truth always hurts”.

Such clashes were inevitable for anyone with Gallagher's length of service and passion and it was typical of that era when Offaly went from All-Ireland contenders to also rans in the blink of an eye – 1981 captain, the late Padraig Horan also laid his opionion on the table at meetings. Andy invariably got over any clashes as did the others involved and fences were generally mended over a period of time.

The GAA was the public facet of his life but there was much more to the man. He was a great family man, devoted to his late wife Fidelma, who died in 2024, their children and their families.

He was a long time worker at FAS in Tullamore, a placement officer for years, and he was very good at his job.

He was great company, genuine and easy to talk to. He had a great sense of humour, a mischievous sense of fun and enjoyed banter and exchanging views with people.

He remained a regular in O'Connor Park until earlier this year, getting great enjoyment of watching hurling and football. Even when he gave out about football before the new rules were introduced, he rarely missed a game in either code and loved travelling to games as well.

He has left a tremendous legacy to his town and county, great memories for his family and friends. He lived life well, went the full distance had terrific energy in his GAA heyday and was one of Offaly's greatest ever hurling and GAA figures.

He will be sadly missed by his children, Pat, Sheila, Mark and Maria, daughters in law Bernie and Karen, sons in law Aiden and Martin, grandchildren , relatives and a wide circle of friends. His funeral details will be announced later.

May he rest in peace.