Tullamore 'rocked to its core' after death of beloved athlete and coach
The Kerry native was a huge part of the Tullamore Harriers Athletics Club
Tributes have been paid today after the death of well-known athletics enthusiast and Tullamore Harriers coach and member Tom Godley.
The club released a statement on behalf of club chairman Adrian Curley which described the Tullamore Harriers club as being "rocked to its core" following the news on Friday.
The statement continued: "Tom, a Kerry native, came to Offaly in the 80s taking a teaching position in Kilcormac Secondary School.
"Tom, an accomplished athlete in his early days, turned his energies to organising and coaching. Tom's enthusiastic love for athletics saw the revival of schools athletics within the county, and indeed he was instrumental in breathing life back into and rejuvenating the juvenile athletic scene within Offaly.
"Everyone who interacted with Tom during his time at the helm of Offaly juvenile athletics will have fond memories of Tom and his fabled 'green bag.' Like a magician pulling rabbits from a hat, Tom would pull from the bag all the essentials to run off another day of competition.
"It was probably as a coach that Tom excelled the most. During his time with our club he coached and guided hundreds of young boys and girls, who he cared for as they were his own.
"We as a club, and wider athletic community within Offaly and beyond, will be forever grateful to have Tom among us.
"On my own behalf and on behalf of the committee and members of the club I wish to extend our deepest sympathies to Tom's wife Siobhan, his children Ellen, Jack and Gerard and the extended Godley family. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam," Adrian Curley's statement concluded.
FUNERAL DETAILS
Reposing at O'Reilly's Funeral Home, Harbour Street, Tullamore (R35 FC84), on Easter Sunday from 2pm until Rosary at 5pm. Funeral Mass on Easter Monday morning at 10am in the Church of the Assumption, Tullamore. Burial after Mass in Clonminch Cemetery, Tullamore.