Offaly GAA mourns passing of very dedicated and loyal GAA man
THERE was great sadness over the weekend following the death of a very dedicated and loyal Offaly GAA worker. A long time resident at Tubberonan, Daingean, in the Kilclonfert GAA Club catchment area, Bill Kavanagh passed away after a comparatively short battle with illness.
A native of Fr Albert Place in Kilkenny, he was very proud of his roots but gave decades of great GAA service after moving to Offaly.
He moved into the Kilclonfert area after marrying Geraldine Mann, a member of a very popular local family. In Kilkenny, he had been a member of the Dicksboro Club and he initially transferred to play with Ballinagar in Offaly – his brother in law Dermot (Dan) Cunningham was a long serving stalwart for them.
He played in goals for them for a few years around the mid 1990s and also played soccer for the Ballinagar team. He transferred to Kilclonfert GAA Club towards the end of the 1990s and gave terrific service to them.
He had a genuine passion in the GAA and embraced this in so many ways. He was a Kilclonfert GAA secretary and long time committee man. He took great interest in his adopted club, their playing fortunes and impressive off field developments, including a gym.
He also served the County Board in a variety of capacities. He was a former Leinster Council delegate and was a member of the Offaly GAA Hearings and Referees' committees at the time of his death.
He was a regular umpire at big games in recent years. He was a familiar sight at O'Connor Park as a steward at games for several years and his enthusiasm for the GAA was infectious.
He was an architect with the Department of Education in Tullamore and was very highly regarded in his work.
A devoted husband and father, Bill was an affable, completely inoffensive man. He was genuinely pleasant company and had a sense of fun about him. He was dependable and very obliging. He enjoyed telling stories about the GAA, games he was at and the incidents that cropped up in them.
News that he was facing into a big health battle came as a great shock to his family and many friends but he continued to live life and attended games for as long as he could - he was at the Offaly Senior Football and Hurling Championship finals some weeks ago.
His loss to his family is profound and he will be mourned by the many people who he soldiered with and who enjoyed his company.
There was a huge turnout at his wake on Sunday evening and he was buried in Kilclonfert Cemetery on Monday after a funeral Mass in the Mary Mother of God Church, Daingean.
Predeceased by his father Willy and father in law Billy (Mann), Bill will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by his loving wife Geraldine, daughters Leah, Aoife, Maeve and Áine, his loving mother Nel, mother in law Brigid (Mann), brothers Ger and Pat, sister Sandra (Twomey), brothers in law, sisters in law, nieces, nephews, relatives, grand nephews, grand nieces, neighbours and a large circle of friends.