Liam O'Neill remembered fondly

GAA Ard Stiúrthóir Tom Ryan has joined the chorus of condolences from right across the Association following the passing of former GAA President Liam O'Neill yesterday.

Tributes spanning the wider GAA family have been paid in the last 24 hours following the passing of a man who was the 37th President of the Association, filling the role between the years of 2012 and 2015.

The GAA Director General worked closely with the Laois man, first in his role as Director of Finance before moving into his current role.

He has nothing but positive memories of Liam and working alongside him.

"When I first started working for the GAA, Liam was the chairperson of Leinster, so I worked with him for a long time with both of us filling different roles in the period since," explains the Director General.

"I always enjoyed working with him. He was a very personable man, with a lovely, wry sense of humour. I learnt an awful lot from him and valued his guidance greatly.

"I fondly recall meeting him on many occasions in Netwatch Dr Cullen Park as someone who would have been a friend of Carlow GAA."

One stand-out memory for Ryan was the fact that O'Neill's Presidential tenure overlapped with no fewer than three consecutive hurling final replays after a period when the GAA hadn't had one since 1959.

Ryan added: "Remarkably his time as President coincided with those three replays which was incredible, not least because we hadn't had one in so long. It was unprecedented.

"He was a passionate advocate for hurling, and Laois hurling in particular, but his influence extended right across our wide range of activities.

"He had a great vision for the future of the Association and where it was going to go and he left an indelible mark on the organisation long after this tenure as President.

"I would like to offer my sympathies to his wife Áine, children Caoimhe, Ciarán and Clíodhna and his wider family and circle of friends."