Liam O'Neill RIP

[The Boy Wonder]

Liam O'Neill was The only Laois man (no disrespect to Bob O'Keeffe, Kilkenny born) to have the distinction of holding the office of GAA President and the first GAA President elected unopposed.

RIP Liam

[Eamonnca1]

Surprising and sad news. He was a good guy, and not that old. We interviewed him at the US nationals in 2013:

https://youtu.be/OjqIcuG80is?t=1179

[Verbal]

May Liam rest in peace.
I don't know if Laois have had as strong a character in a position of authority on the County Board since.
There is always a slight sense of "football v hurling" in this county.
Liam was always fair and true to both.
Crucially, hurling people trusted him that we would get our fair dues. I'm not sure we have had that sense since.

It's hard to see much personal gain or ambition in anything the man did.
He wasn't afraid to ruffle feathers, going back to his time as Hurling Board Secretary in the early 1990s.
He certainly didn't bow down to the County Board in an effort to curry favour for future ambitions.

A true Gael.

May he Rest in Peace.

[The PRO]

Liam was a very fair man. Had to make plenty of hard calls as county secretary back in the day but always made the right decisions.
He certainly wasn't what you'd call an outgoing character but when you got to know him, he was warm, engaging and a very interesting and intelligent man.
It wasn't the slightest surprise to anyone when he rose to the very top role in the GAA.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé.

[Verbal]

I wouldn't say he always made the right decisions.
But he always made decisions for the right reasons.
What more can you ask of any man.

[Smallballbigballs]

A very decent and kind man who rightly believed in the value of the club and community. The tributes paid in recent days summed him up and Saturday's send off was a testament to him.

A fior Gael.