According to friends, Eamon Coleman, the former Derry manager, is seriously ill in hospital. It's related to his former illness, and he was apparently admitted some days ago. Eamon is one of the greatest characters in the game, and everyone will be wishing him well.
I hope he pulls throught. He's one of the real characters of the GAA.
Good luck, Eamon. A hardy wee man.
Saddened to hear this.
The man is a Legend - no other word to describe him -
The latest word about Eamon is not good, and the thoughts of all his friends in Down will be with him tonight.
Heard this myself alright, tough break for him but he's been battling the odds for some time by all accounts.
Let's hope that one of the hardiest fighters of them all can best his opponent once more. Good luck Eamon.
The news indeed is not good. Thinking of you Eamonn.
Very sorry to hear that. He is one of those people with an instantly recognisable voise - a true character.
Lads do you not think it's a bit insensitive to be writing him off just yet? As I know some of his family read this board, perhaps it might be better to refrain from commenting until we know something definite/official.
A real character & a truly committed GAA man. A legend !
Get well soon eamon.
Hope you get better soon eamon.
Le gach dea-ghui agus paidreacha chuig Eamon agus a mhuintir. Best to Eamon, a most charismatic and colourful part of the GAA fabric.
Best wishes to Eamon and his family from a Down man.
Tá brón orm an scéal seo a chloisteáil.
Go mbeidh an bua agat a Eamonn a chara.
All I can do is echo the sentiments expressed earlier. A true gael I wish him godspeed in his recovery.
Get well soon.
Sound man .Get well soon.
RIP Eamon, the GAA has lost a legend
a character and a half. RIP
Where's you hear he died Exiled?
Rest in Peace Eamon. A true giant in Gaelic Games.
RIP Eamon... A true Derry gael
Terrible news.
RIP Eamon
a True Gael who will missed by all.
Great GA man
RIP
Very saddened to hear this. The last breed of colourful characters. I'll never forget his intervention v Derry in the 2001 semi. A funny and honest interviewee. Great photo of him celebrating v Tyrone last year in Omagh the bugger!!! RIP Eamon.
Where did this break? can find any comfirmation on it at all.
A well placed mate, doubt media has it yet
Former Derry manager Coleman dies
The world of Gaelic games is in mourning following the death of former Derry and Cavan manager Eamonn Coleman on Monday night.
Coleman will go down in GAA history as the man who guided Derry to their only All-Ireland Championship in 1993.
The colourful, and often controversial, Coleman was sensationally sacked by Derry the following year but returned to succeed Brian Mullins in 1999.
He took the Oak Leaf county to National League titles in 1992 and 2000.
A native of Ballymcguigan in south County Derry, Coleman won an All-Ireland minor medal in 1965 and was an Under-21 winner three years later.
A non-smoker and non-drinker, it was as a manager that he set himself apart.
In the late 1980s Coleman was a key figure in the UUJ Sigerson Cup breakthrough team. Along with Belfast man Charlie Sweeney, "wee Eamonn " steered Jordanstown to inter-varsity wins in 1986 and 1987.
Coleman was handed the reigns of the Derry senior team in 1990 and first tasted success as a manager in 1992, landing the National League title.
But 1993 was to be his defining year, when he guided the Oak Leaf county to All-Ireland senior success.
In July he masterminded the defeat of the then champions Donegal in the Ulster provincial decider.
The defeat of Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final left Derry in a September showdown with Cork. Coleman's boys did not disappoint, the Sam Maguire cup was on its way to Derry for the first time.
Barely a year later, defeat to Down in Celtic Park in one of the great Championship matches, cost Eamonn Coleman his job.
Following a brief flirtation with Longford in the mid-1990s, he then drifted into club management in Cavan, but by 2000 he had returned to Derry and brought them yet another National League title.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/6731599.stm
Just read that article on the bbc website, Rest In Peace Eamon!!
RIP
When he took over Longford in 1996 or so I went to a 'Fans Forum' in O'Donoghues in Merrion Row.
Eamon has us well fired by the end of the night - so much so I almost came out of retirement! He predicted bright times ahead for a talented young Longford team and blooded manys a fine player.
He time in Longford was not so great, results wise. A defeat to Wicklow and a thumping by Offaly was his championship return
A sound decent man that would have done anything for you and he will be missed by all that encountered him.
The GAA has lost a shining light.
My sympathies to his family.
RIP Eamon, your perseverance, dedication and enthusiasm brought me some of the greatest days of my life - thanks for the memories.
A great man in his own way. Condolences to all the family.
Sorry to hear about the sad death of Eamon Coleman - the man was a real legend - the stories behind the man are legendary but the one I think I like best was just a few years ago when his team, Cavan won through to the Ulster semi final where they were going to meet I think the then All Ireland champions, Armagh - the commentator came over to him for a post match interview and congratulated him on the win and he was then asked what did he think of his chances against Armagh, to which he replied with a real devilish smile " You know I don't think we'll even turn up for it ! " - well a fortnight later his team DID turn up and proceeded to get stuck into Armagh as if Cavan were the champs - I'll never forget that cheeky smile that day... and he went away planning for Armagh -
May you rest in peace.
Really sad- A good laugh, a good brain ,a good footballer and a great manager.He will have Ambrose at full-forward.
just heard it on the news, very sad. i always liked the way he had about him, big loss to the gaa. my thoughts and prayers are with his family. RIP eamon
Massive loss to the game.Having met Eamon a number of years ago,the 2 things that struck me about him was his modesty,and his total committment to Derry football.
Thanks,Eamon for your massive contribution to the GAA.
May he rest in peace.
From a Down fan.
I always loved the comment he made to journalists after a Derry victory in 1993 in a game they were after being tipped to lose by those same journalists "Do youse boys know anything at all about football". A great character. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.
R.I.P Eamon. One of the best characters in gaelic football. Will be greatly missed.
Remember him from his very successful spell with the lower end of our parish and his unfortunately less successful spells with Longford and Cavan.
Always a decent man.
May he rest in peace.
RIP.
RIP Eamon, one of the GAA's true characters has passed on.
RIP.
one of the last breed of tell it like it is. I had the pleasure of playing under him, something i will never forget. Sympathies to gary and family.
RIP Eamon thanks for all the memories and your service to Gaelic Games.
Very sad news. I hope Donegal and Tyrone honour him on Sunday.
RIP wee man
RIP Eamon.
RIP. I only met him once. I decent fella with a good sense of humour.
Legend of the game. RIP
Sad to learn of Eamonn's untimely death.
He was a friend of all Gaels and gave his time willingly to the GAA.
Sympathy to his son Gary and all the family on their sad bereavement.
May Eamonn's soul rest in peace.
Saddened to hear of Eamons passing. He will be sorely missed. It was always very interesting and enjoyable listening to Eamons interviews. May he Rest in Peace.
RIP. Treated shamefully after what he did for his county but showed dignity throughout.
Was always well-liked and appreciated for what he did in Longford. RIP.
Sad news for a generation of Ulster and in particular Derry GAA fans who admired , respected and also from an oppositions point of view feared his genius, passion and inspiration. He had it all. May Eamonn Coleman, the man who was born to bring Sam to Derry rest in Peace.
Sad news indeed. RIP
Very sad to hear of Eamonn's passing. A true gael and a man I admired greatly. His views on the game were spot on and he was a great character. May he rest in peace.
A sad loss to the GAA. One of the most likable characters ever involved in the game.
His integrity and wit made sure every interview he did was worth watching or listening to.
Will be sadly missed but never forgotton.
A Derry Gael through and through.
RIP Eamon, and thanks for all the memories.
Sad news
Brought great joy on 19th September 1993
RIP Eamonn
Echo the thoughts here, and if as has been suggested some of his family member do pop in here every so often, I hope when they see this thread at some time in the future that they garner some small bit of comfort from the esteem Eamon was held in by GAA people up and down the country.
RIP the small man with the big heart.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
RIP Eamon.
A real character and a GAA legend.
Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
A terrible loss for Eamon's family and for Gaels everywhere.
Always entertaining, Eamon was a good friend to armagh football.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
RIP Eamon & thoughts are with his family.
The GAA has lost a great character
I remember Eamon being interviewed going off the field at halftime in the 1993 All Ireland Final. He was asked about the Gormley/Calahane incident and he said "the rule says that if you strak first you must go, Calahane struck and he didn't". Classic.
RIP
Sad to hear of the death of Eamon , he was a true Derry Gael and a legend
Sad news indeed, 1993 was a super achievement
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Eamon epitomised what the GAA is all about. It was his life, and his roll of honour in todays Irish News is amazing.
He was a product of 50`s Ireland, a place far away from the country we know today.
In his passing we should take time to reflect on the huge sacrifices made by Eamonn, and others, to make the GAA what it is today, the biggest amateur sporting organisation in the world.
Where pride of your club, your county and your culture came first, and loyalty to your comrades knew no bounds.
Today the people of Co Antrim salute one of the genuine all -time greats. May you rest in peace.
A great character of the game, May he rest in peace
RIP Eamon.
Will always be remembered for 1993 & indeed his brave battle against cancer in recent times.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
RIP Eamon
I would like to echo everything said before. It mad be genuinely sad to hear that Eamonn Coleman had passed on. He gave a lot to Cavan football in his time down here. Firstly while in charge of a very successful Gowna club team and then when in charge of the county team. He was a fantastic character and I'll always remember him jumping and prowling like a lunatic on the sideline at an U21 ulster final a couple of years back between Cavan and Down. Even when he retired due to illness he made himself available to come in to help out the team. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
A real character with an astute football brain.
'ní bheidh a leithidí arís ann'
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Sad news. He holds a unique position in his county's history forever.
RIP Eamon.
Always thought Eamon Coleman was very harshly treated by some in his own county, but he will be remembered and revered long after they've been forgotten.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
When you saw Eamon Coleman being lined up for an interview you knew you what you were going to get. He called it like he saw it and wasnt afraid to be controversial. Big loss for Derry and football in general. RIP
Eamon Coleman R.I.P
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Condolences to the Coleman Family. Eamon will be sadly missed by Gaels all over the world. One of the few managers who was ' a bit of craic'. South Derry to the hilt.
RIP
RIP
R.I.P
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
A massive lose for Derry GAA and GAA as a whole.
God Bless.
RIP
RIP.
He was on the panel for the Bredagh Talks Liam & Sam evening last September. He was in good form all evening and I thought he was over his illness. Very sorry to hear this bad news. RIP.
Good interview with Brolly re Eamon here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/sol/newsid_6740000/newsid_6743700?redirect=6743777.stm&news=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1
He'll be missed- talked the talk, and walked the walk...
Legend gone - but will never be forgotten!
RIP Eamon.
RIP. A great GAA man and a great Derry man.
Small in stature but a giant of a man.
May he rest in peace.
Please take a look at the thread The BBC should be ashamed on "Non GAA"
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Very sad news, never heard it all day, will always be a legend in Derry after what he did for the county in 1993.
Very sorry to hear this news - a great character gone.
Sympathies to the Coleman family and Derry GAA.
May Eamon Rest In Peace
Quote from: Rufus T Firefly on June 12, 2007, 07:49:25 PM
Very sorry to hear this news - a great character gone.
Sympathies to the Coleman family and Derry GAA.
May Eamon Rest In Peace
My lasting memory of Eamon was the emotion on his face as Henry Downey thanked him for what he had done for that particular team and the whole of Co.Derry in his speech at Croke Park a very special moment his family can cherish for ever.
Very sorry to hear about Eamon Coleman.He was one true gael who said it as he seen it.
May he rest in peace.Mary Queen Of The Gael pray for him.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
God rest the man and deepest sympathy to all his extended family. While we in Cavan benefited greatly from Eamons presence you always knew Eamon was first an foremost an Oak Leafer. I remember during the 2004 campaign he said that his greatest nightmare would be drawing Derry in the qualifier-from the heart as usual, no spin. If Tom Humphries ever gives up writing about the Dubs he would have enough in this great man's life for five volumes-underage all irelands as a player, First All Ireland as a Manager, dismissal, the emigrant trail, back into management beyond his home boundaries.
As a one eyed Cavan man I always felt that himself and McIlkennon could have brought us back close to respectability. Had the foresight to blood Mickey Lyng and Anthony Gaynor as 19 year olds at the highest level, was the only man ever to talk Trevor Crowe into wearing the Breffni Blue at any level. That day in Clones in 04 when we had Armagh on the ropes with 14 men and Dermot McCabe partolling midfield on one leg.
To Eamons immediate and extended family, be proud that the man packed more into 60 odd years than most mortals do into 3 lifetimes.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
I am saddened to hear about Eamon's death, a great gaa man has been lost. My thoughts and prayes are with the Coleman family.
Eamon Coleman will be remembered by me for his time at Athlone as well as his national titles with Derry. He won two Westmeath championships with Athlone in '79 and ?'81. Des Dolan, now with Leitrim, was the coach at the time and, I believe, influenced Eamon in terms of training method. It is interesting that they both went on to be intercounty managers. I spent a lot of time with these teams as my older brother was a team member and remember in particular Coleman's views on cigarettes and alcohol in sport. He laughed when he heard I had married a Derry footballer's (Hugh Francis Gribbin) daughter.
Eammon Coleman was a man greatly responsible for one of the best days of many of our lives.
God Rest.
very sad to that eamon has passed away, seein the clips and things on the news u realise he brought somethin special to derry and its something that hasnt been the same with him not at the reins. he'll be sorely missed. RIP.
Anchor's Angle with Michael Lyster
Normally in this column, we look ahead to the upcoming matches and fixtures in Gaelic games but I would just like to dedicate this article to a reflection on two events from this week in relation to Ulster football.
The first is the passing of Eamonn Coleman, the former Derry manager and the man who was in charge when the county made their breakthrough in 1993 by winning the All-Ireland title.
The early Nineties were very special years for Ulster football as the province well and truly dominated the Championship scene. Down had two All-Ireland victories, Donegal claimed the Sam Maguire in '92 and then Derry got in on the act twelve months later. Only Tyrone in 1995 failed to keep the hit rate going but then, of course, they were to be finally rewarded a few years later themselves.
Eamonn began his playing career at minor and Under-21 level with distinction for the county in the Sixties and he followed that up with a lifetime of dedication to football in Derry.
When he took over the Derry senior side in the early Nineties it was to become the most successful period in the county's history. In a spell of a little more than 16 months, they had won the National League, the Ulster Championship and the All-Ireland itself.
That was a time when I got to know Eamonn Coleman quite well and, indeed, many of the players who were on that Championship-winning side, not least a certain Joe Brolly. Eamonn was a quiet man and you got the impression that he wasn't always comfortable with the presence of the media. In truth he was probably a little bit shy but he was certainly good company.
I recall going to do an interview with him one time at his home in the lead-up to a big Championship match. Somewhat lengthy and convoluted directions eventually brought me to a house sitting in splendid isolation on the shores of Lough Neagh. When I knocked on the door, Eamonn shouted for me to come in.
He was sitting in the living room watching a video of some match, so for the next while the two of us just sat there, watching, nothing much being said by either of us except for the odd comment on a player or a passage of play in the match. When the tape had finally run its course, Eamonn chirpily said: 'Sure, we might as well do this interview.'
For some reason, that evening has always stuck in my memory, partly for the slight oddness of the situation but partly because of the world-apart setting of his home which, I think, I possibly envied.However, if Eamonn was slightly wary of the media at times he certainly had no trouble communicating with his players. He was very much a players' man and was noted for constantly boosting their confidence by telling them how great they were as a team and how talented they were as individuals; mind you, I doubt if he had to work too hard to bring out Brolly's self belief!
As so often happens, of course, the close bond that forms between a manager and his players can make County Board officials feel left out of the party and so it came to pass that, less than a year after their massive All-Ireland success, Eamonn Coleman was dropped as Derry manager. The good times, short-lived as they were, had just come to an end.
While I got to know Eamonn Coleman during those years, I never got the chance to make the acquaintance of young Tyrone minor Paul McGirr. It's exactly a decade ago (15 June) since Paul's life came to a sudden and unbelievable end following a collision during their Ulster Championship match against Armagh in Omagh. As the Dromore player chased a ball that brought Tyrone the decisive goal in the game, he was involved in a heavy collision with the Armagh goalkeeper and died some hours later in hospital as a result of fatal bleeding from a torn artery.
A look at the Tyrone minor team photo from that day is a poignant reminder of what might have lain ahead for Paul in his football career. In that picture are most of the players who went on to win the minor All-Ireland in 1998, the Under-21 national crown in 2000 and the county's first senior All-Ireland in 2003, players like Kevin Hughes, Stephen O'Neill, Brian McGuigan and, of course, another young man whose life was to be tragically short, Cormac McAnallen. But a decade after Paul's death, his memory lives on with his former colleagues and manager, Mickey Harte, and it is fitting this week to see that Tyrone are supporting a project in his name to bring an improved quality of life for people in need in Africa.
Galway hurler Alan Kerins set up a similar project a couple of years ago with great success to date and I am delighted to see that Tyrone are marking the tenth anniversary of Paul's death by ensuring that his name will live on as an inspiration and as a benefit to others.
In a week of suspensions, fines and general off-the-field headlines, it's no harm sometimes to take a step back and take a look at the bigger, clearer picture.
I sat down on Tuesday to write a tribute to the wee man but the emotions where too raw and I decided to leave it till now. Firstly, Eamon was gave a send off yesterday befitting his status and showed the high regard in which he was held by the GAA community in Ulster and further afield. Particularlly telling was the amount of former players who came to pay their respects. Henry carrying the cup at the head of the funeral procession into the chapel was a lovely touch, he was Eamon's leader both on and off the field.
I have been around football a long time and in all that time I have never heard a bad word said about Eamon. We all have our own wee stories to tell about him and the memories will live with me for the rear of my days. He lived and breathed for football and his family. The man gave more for Derry than any who have went before him or any who will come behind him. He delivered the holy grail to the oak leaf county and for this alone he will never be forgotton.
I wouldn't have knew Eamon fairly well but any time I met him he remembered my name, where I was from, indeed who my father was and often regaled me with stories of the aul boys footballing career when football was a lot harder than it is today. No matter what the topic of discussion was it always turned around to football. How would Derry go this year, what where our chances. I was particular fond of Eamon for one thing in particular, his direct honesty. No matter what the consequences he was always true to what he believed in, speaking his mind and dealing with whatever resulted. The smile and the sparkling eyes may be gone but they will live on in my mind forever.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Piece from this weeks Cavan Echo....
Gowna pay tribute to 'inspirational' leader
BY MARIA MCCOURT
The man responsible for bringing the All-Ireland winning manager Eamonn Coleman to Cavan club Gowna, has paid tribute to "the greatest manager" he has ever seen.
Chairman of Gowna GAA, Sean McGahern was speaking after the untimely death of the 59-year-old Derry native last Monday after a two-year battle with cancer.
Sean, who persuaded Coleman to join the club in 1996 shortly after he himself had taken the chairman's role in January of that year, described him as "an inspiration" and paid tributes to his qualities both as a manager and as a man.
"After the very first training session he had with the club, you just knew it was going to happen," said Sean.
"He brought discipline, fitness and for the first time ever, a real sense of direction. The players knew where they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to do and he wasn't afraid to tell them when they weren't doing just that."
Beginning with a core squad that included names such as Bernard Morris, Laurence Brady, Dessie, Joe and Ciaran Brady, Sean Pierson and the McCabe brothers among others, Coleman went on to win five county championships and two senior leagues with Gowna, twice securing the double.
"Having lost the final in 1995 people felt that our best years were gone but in 1996 Eamonn brought us the championship and, on top of that, to beat our neighbours Mullahoran in the final was just fantastic."
Coleman's ability to motivate players and command their respect was, believes Sean, a key to his success as a manager and his popularity as a man.
"Eamonn's half-time team talks were as good as five points to a team. He had such a presence in the dressing room, he made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. He could push players to the very limit and still never fall out with them."
Yet despite his widespread popularity, and reputation as a player's man, Coleman was renowned for pulling no punches when straight talking was required.
"Players knew what was waiting for them when they went in there at half time, especially if they had been playing badly," admitted Sean, "but for me his greatest assets were his reading of the game, motivating his men and his ability to make moves that no one else could see."
When asked if he sometimes doubted his colourful manager, Sean laughed; "I always doubted him but it never did me any good. I'd be thinking 'why the hell's he doing that?' then ten minutes later you'd be 'ahh, now I see'."
The Gowna chairman added a personal tribute to his good friend.
"He was just fierce craic, you could talk to him about anything and we just enjoyed being with him. Everyone who knew him listened to him and respected him and it's so hard to believe he's gone."
Pathetic one minute 'tribute' to Eamon on the Championship tonight. Obviously just thrown together today with interviews with ex-managers at Clones today. The man deserved better than this.
JOE BROLLY
June 15, 2007 | Gaelic Life
'Burn the hurls' Eamonn Coleman roared once at Brian McGilligan, when the big man appeared back limping from a hurling match. It sent the dressing room into hilarious uproar, McGilligan ranting at him and the rest of us shouting and laughing. This was a man obsessed only with football.On Wednesday, when I arrived at his homeplace on the Loughshore with a posse of his old boys, Adrian McGuckin was standing at the door with his son Adrian. The older the young man gets, the more he looks like hisfather, both keepers of the Ballinderry flame. Standing with them was Ardboe's Patsy Forbes, who played senior football for longer than Stanley Matthews, and still looks as though he could shackle a lively corner-forward. The quartet was completed by Paddy Crozier, who lives a stone's throw away, and over the years spent countless hours in Eamonn's cottage talking football. The little general would have been impressed by the congregation.
Gary appeared at the door, and I was immediately struck by how like his father he has become. He has built a handsome
house for his own family right beside his father's, one looking on to the other, and it was hard not to imagine them standing chatting together in the evenings as the years rolled on, discussing this footballer or that one. Alas, his son has been robbed of this great pleasure, and it is most unfair.
When Eamonn took over the Derry team it was going nowhere. It was a squad full of marquee players, but underachievement
was a way of life. He set about changing this with a vengeance. He forced us to believe that we were the best. He often took me aside and said " I cannot believe how good you are, you are the best corner-forward in Ireland." Already vain, I was happy to take him at his word. It was only years later I discovered he had been saying exactly the same to Enda Gormley. There are two things that stand out about that era. First, the changing room ringing with laughter at one of Eamonn's hilarious outbursts, and second the hair standing on our necks as he breathed a fiery oration. Brian McEniff always got a touch, as did anything to do with Tyrone, and of course DJ Kane, who was Eamonn's panto villain. Sometimes when he spoke, eyes bulging, fist shaking, tears would come into his eyes. What passion! " I want you to be like those hateful Meath b........ds" he used to shout. " Derry teams is far too nice. I don't want you boys to be nice. I want you to be hateful! Nice boys win nothing! " Resistance was futile. When he told us we would win an All-Ireland we surrendered to the notion, and he never let us doubt it for a second. He didn't exactly use the Queen's English, in fact I doubt very much if the Queen would have had the faintest notion what he was saying, but for all that he was one of the best communicators I ever came across. He was full of fun, and had a deep affection not just for us, but for people in general. It was simply impossible not to like the man. When he took over, the team was riven by factions, and club was far more important than county. Some of the lads wouldn't even speak to others. Eamonn cured this quickly. He played cards with the boys at the back of the bus. He encouraged camaraderie. He brought fun. For a strict teetotaler he was full of mischief. He seemed to know everything about us. Who was courting whom, who was drinking, where they were drinking and when. John Mulholland told a hilarious story at the wake that shed some light on this. The morning of an important challenge match in Roscommon, Fergal McCusker appeared at breakfast with a black eye (again). Big John had only just been brought onto the panel and Eamonn approached him after the vittals. " John, I haven't picked this team yet, and there's a big opportunity for you here today" said Eamonn. " Now what happened Fergal McCusker's eye?"
Just a year ago, I met Gary and himself at the league gamein Navan. They were sitting in the stand in front of us, wearing their Derry caps, more like brothers than father and son. He had come through his treatment and was in terrific form, looking as youthful as ever. The Derry faithful were delighted. We crowded round him at half-time as he explained it was the first match he had been to since his illness. Afterwards in the carpark, I shared my picnic with them, and came away with a spring in my step. Only a few weeks ago, he was doing well and looking forward to the all clear. Now, he is dead, and there is nothing anyone can do.
His homeplace is nestled right on the loughshore, in one of the most beautiful sites on God's earth. As we were driving away, I thought of lines from Yeats' Inisfree:
" And I shall have some peace there,
for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of this morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a-glimmer,
and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
"I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the water lapping with low
sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core. "
Impossible not to like
Quote from: Cloc Mor on June 17, 2007, 09:49:31 PM
Pathetic one minute 'tribute' to Eamon on the Championship tonight. Obviously just thrown together today with interviews with ex-managers at Clones today. The man deserved better than this.
It was poor. However the supporters and players at the game today were fantastic. The clapping before and after the minute's silence was unplanned. Really touching moment.
I,like many others, was lucky enough to count "wee eamonn" as a friend. Whilst most will rightly recall his managerial proess and footballing brain, these are not necessarily what springs to mind when I think of eamonn.
What i prefer to remember is his impish way, his mischievious side. The way he used to "confide" in you, even though you knew when he was telling you the story that he had told it numerous times previously! His obvious love for his children,and the pride he showed when speaking of them. Margaret, Gary and Viviens loss is infinitely greater than any loss we may be feeling.
Eamonn was a legend living in ordinary shoes, but then I supppose all legends are like that. I'll miss wee eamonn greatly over the coming years,but I'm all the better for having spent time with him. God rest you Eamonn.
You were quare craic!!
honestly the spontanaeous applause before the minutes silence for Coleman today was a lovely moment and showed the warmth that people felt for him and his character. Fair play to Donegal, Armagh and Tyrone fans for the nice touch.
Great tribute to Eamon on tonight's Road to Croke, with lovely pieces from both Dessies Dolan, Junior and Senior. Credit where it's due, well done RTÉ.
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on July 26, 2007, 09:16:20 PM
Great tribute to Eamon on tonight's Road to Croke, with lovely pieces from both Dessies Dolan, Junior and Senior. Credit where it's due, well done RTÉ.
It was a good tribute alright. I've yet to hear anyone say a bad word about the man.
Every time they play that clip of him in the Hogan Stand with Downey making the speech in 93 brings a tear to the eye.
Pure Derry, Pure Gentleman, Pure Class.
super tribute and well put together. lovely words by dessie when he said he loved to see eamons car in the drive when he came home..
Lovely tribute to him alright. Dessie Snr seems like a nice chap. I never knew that about Eamon living with them in Athlone for years. It's repeated tomorrow night as far as I know. Around 11:30-ish.
Quote from: 5iveTimes on July 26, 2007, 10:49:45 PM
Is it repeated?
You can watch it on-line if you're in Ireland at
http://www.rte.ie/tv/theroadtocroker/index.html (http://www.rte.ie/tv/theroadtocroker/index.html)
Quote from: hardstation on July 27, 2007, 01:04:27 AM
No matter what grievances I have with Doire, the wee man from the 'Quigan' was something special.
True, his love of the game transcended all boundaries, and infected all those who were lucky enough to have had direct contact with him.
Great piece, both Dessies came across really well, that was some mop of hair Junior had in the picture. Reaffirms my belief that Dessie Senior should be in charge next year, I'd say himself and Eamon had many the fine evening together.