RIP: Popular GAA man and grandfather of Tipperary superstar laid to rest

The funeral of Jimmy (James) Morris, Sue Ryder House Nenagh, late of Annbrook and formerly of Drumnahane, Borrisokane, and Life President of Nenagh Eire Óg GAA Club, took place on the afternoon of Monday, March 23.

Jimmy, grandfather of Tipperary hurler Jake Morris and father of Cllr Séamie Morris, died peacefully, at Nenagh Hospital, surrounded by his family, on March 20, 2026.

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Cllr Séamie Morris, posted the picture below, and said: “RIP Dad. 96 is a good innings and he died with his principles intact. He touched so many lives in his 96 years.”

In a statement, Nenagh Éire Óg said: “Nenagh Éire Óg extends its deepest sympathies to the family of our beloved Life President Jimmy Morris on his passing after a long life of such fulfillment and service to our club that is immeasurable and left a legacy that will never be extinguished.

“Born and bred in Borrisokane he moved permanently to Nenagh in the late 1960s and when members of his young family began playing at juvenile level, Jimmy soon began a journey with the club, starting as a committee member in the mid 1970s and a selector with many underage teams which had great success at minor and U21 level in the late 70s and early 80s in both hurling and football.

“It was as an officer that Jimmy left an indelible mark, serving as Treasurer between 1986 and 1996, and Chairman for 1997 and 1998. Alongside fellow officers, Jimmy played a huge part in the building of our complex and viewing stand at our main field which are permanent monuments to the drive and vision of great club people, with Jimmy at the heart of it.”

On Jake's performance against Kilkenny in the National Hurling League on Saturday night, the Premier View Podcast said: “Lining out for Tipperary and finding the net against Kilkenny, it was a moment that went far beyond the scoreboard. A goal that meant more. A goal for family, for club, and for a man who gave everything to the GAA.”

“He was made a club president in 2001 and his passion for the club never waned in recent years, continuing to attend as many games as he could, including following his grandson Jake all the way to Croke Park and an All Ireland title last July.

“Jimmy's family have themselves played a huge part in the fabric of the club in various roles over the years, that enthusiasm passed on from the man himself.

“An encounter with Jimmy was always something to treasure and we will miss him greatly. But the flame from his passion will live on forever in our club and in our hearts.”

Jimmy is predeceased by his beloved wife Nonie (née Whelan), his daughters Monica, Jane and Patricia, his granddaughter Sorcha, Breda (née Sheehan), daughter-in-law Bernie, his parents Martin and Bridget (née O'Meara), brothers Willie, Sean, Joe and Martin.

He was the loving father of Marian, Martin, Con, Bernadette, Séamie, Ger and Martina.

Jimmy will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by his loving family, his siblings Peter, Mary, Theresa, Noel and Mick, Marian's partner Tom, daughters-in-law Denise and Margaret, son-in-law Paudge, his much loved grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great great-grandson Billy, extended family, relatives, neighbours and many friends.

He lay in repose on Sunday, March 22, at Nenagh Eire Óg Complex.

His funeral took place at midday on Monday, March 23.

During the Mass, several items representing Jimmy’s life were presented, including a Borrisokane jersey, to represent his playing career with the club, a Nenagh Éire Óg jersey, representing the various roles he held within the club, a Tipperary jersey, to symbolise his love for the Tipperary hurling team, with grandson Jake Morris noting that Jimmy never missed an All-Ireland final, a picture of the Morris family, representing Jimmy’s commitment to being a family man, a hammer, representing his career, and his rise from carpentry to managing director, a hat, to symbolise his love of wearing hats, his book, ‘The Morris Code’, and a sliotar, to symbolise his love of hurling.

Delivering the eulogy at the end of the Mass, Jimmy’s son Martin spoke of the love everyone felt for his father, saying: “How do you synopsize this man’s life with a few sheets? It’s next to impossible, particularly on yesterday’s performance in McDonagh Park. I must say, his club, our club, done us extremely proud yesterday, the performance of the club, it was, the total respect that they showed for Dad, and each and every one of those young lads that are now, older generations and younger generations, he’d be so proud.

“Dad, some life for one man. I thank my brothers and sisters for choosing me to represent them today here in this beautiful church. Dad came from the family farm in Borrisokane. His father Martin died in a road accident. Dad, the eldest in his family, was 18 years of age. His mother and seven siblings ran the farm, as Dad had just started his apprenticeship in carpentry in Nenagh. When Mam and Dad got married, they moved to Tower Hill in Borrisokane, and started a family which would grow to ten children, eight of which would become birthed by midwife Nurse Ahern.

“We moved to a new housing scheme in Marian Avenue, which felt like a palace at the time. We had great memories there as our neighbours all had young families. When Tipp and Wexford would meet regularly in the All-Ireland’s in the 50s and 60s, we would reenact the games with the Power family across the road, as their father was from Wexford.

“Dad was secretary of Borrisokane GAA at 32. To everyone’s surprise, he moved the family to Nenagh for a closer convenience to his work with Thomas Hayes in Killaloe. While the house was being built, the first few months were given in Ballywilliam with Nana and Connie. What a great backing they gave my father and mother, and indeed us as a family.

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“Growing up, we were able to enjoy both country and urban life. Dad later on, as we approached hurling age, joined his lot with Éire Óg, because he knew we would be hurling with Nenagh, and playing all our sport in Nenagh. Later on in life, we could look back and we could see Dad’s capacity for seeing the bigger picture, and to trust his gut feeling.

“In his work life, Dad became a Director of Tom Hayes Ltd, managing some of the biggest sites and their contracts. If you look down at Nenagh from Keeper Hill, you can see Nenagh Co-Op building, the high-rise building that was very close, as you can see in the skyline. He was very proud of a lot of those big jobs that he had done and completed. Other buildings he was involved in were the local convent school, the original vocational school, ABP meat factory, and the post office. Further afield, he also managed the construction of Munster’s first £1 million job in Verbatim, Limerick, the surrounding walls and stiles of Thomond Rugby Ground, Shannon Diamond, to name but a few. He had the capacity to get the best out of people, with his lieutenant and brother-in-law Jimmy Cahill. If you were fair with Dad, he was fair with you.

“He gave us our nationalist and republican principles all through the 70s, 80s and 90s in Ireland, which he later passed on to another generation. The Senior Officer in the FCA in his time was the great republican Seán South from Garryowen. Through this, Dad became a passioned, articulate public speaker during the H-Block years.

“Now on to his greatest passion of all, his achievements with Éire Óg and his involvement with Éire Óg. Along with his fellow club officers, the late Ger Gavin and Jim Minogue, who now proudly represents our club as County Chairman, they proceeded to first get control of the club grounds for Éire Óg. People will remember the effort and work that Ger and himself and Jimmy put into all of that. By this success, these three great friends and officers along with the club committee started to fundraise for the complex and stand, as it stands in Nenagh McDonagh Park now.

“In the late 80s and 90s when fundraising was difficult, they never let an obstacle get in their way. Also in the 90s, some of our juvenile successes in both hurling and football, especially at minor and under 21 level happened, paving the way for the winning senior county team of 1995.

“1995 was to be a sad year in our family calendar. We lost our mother, Dad’s wife and best friend Nonie Morris, née Whelan from Ballywilliam. We were so lucky as a family of ten to have two parents who were such a good team together. They reared us in a great Irish family environment, giving us all the foundations to put our best forward in life. Unfortunately we lost our sister Monica in a car crash, Jane through cancer, and Trish through bad health. Dad also lost his second wife Breda through motor neuron disease.

“Dad developed his love for travel through trips with the Tipperary teams in 89 and 91. A long time after Mam died, he informed us that he was going to tour some of the world. He travelled to Canada, Hawaii, Nairobi, to visit one of his best friends in life, Sister Bernard, whom he had met while he was managing the construction of the Ursuline Convent in Thurles. Sister Bernard was principal there at the time, but had to spend the last part of her teaching career in the missions. She showed him the immense poverty and hardship which people of Nairobi lived with. This also stayed with Dad. He finished his trip with a visit to Adelaide in Australia to see his daughter Trish and her husband Matt, who was finishing his medical training at the time.

“He came home some time later and announced he was going to start a new life, where he met, and later married Breda. He made a new circle of friends, and Breda’s three sons came to respect him and love him. Also in Canada, he developed a great relationship with Tom McGrath from Loughmore. From his commentary on matches with Tipp FM, which was the only way he could actually get to hear the games, which Dad was glued to in Canada. Along with the Guardian, his only source of keeping up with all these things with Éire Óg and Tipperary was through Tom McGrath and Tipp FM.

“Breda passed away from motor neuron disease, and just after the ceremony, father Bobby Dwyer, a great friend of his said ‘it might be inappropriate timing for me to say aloud, Jimmy is so looking forward to spending the last part of his life in Nenagh with his Nenagh family, and what a period he enjoyed. And boy did he have some time following his grandsons and daughters’ careers with Éire Óg, and Jake and Pearse’s many successes. He followed the Éire Óg team with passion and got to make friends among the new generation of the club.

“Dad in all that time managed to write and publish a book called ‘The Morris Code’, with his great friend Gerry Slevin from Borrisokane, who helped him put the book together.

“He was an amazing man. In all his achievements in life, he was still able to put down his notes on paper and to formulate a book. Nothing ever stopped him, no gap was too big for him, no fence was there for him not to jump. That was the way he was.

“He was a special guy, he really was a special guy in our lives, and I said to the lads there a couple of weeks ago, there was a bit of him in all of us, but none of us have the whole package, because you could never have the whole package with Jimmy Morris. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.”