Offaly GAA mourns death of former chairman and long serving stalwart

The very sad death has taken place of one of Offaly’s most loved and cherished GAA personalities.

Ballycumber native Ollie Daly had experienced more than his share of health problems in the past couple of years but news of his imminent demise on Monday and death on Thursday afternoon still came as a tremendous shock as he was battling hard and still getting out and about until very recently.

A long time resident in Ferbane, he made a lifelong and profound contribution to the GAA in all capacities – firstly as a player, then a manager and selector and finally as an officer. He was a former chairman of the Offaly GAA County Board, his home club of Ballycumber and his adopted club of Ferbane.

He was not a time server in any of these roles or content to ensure that the show merely stayed on the road and fixtures were fulfilled. Instead he was a pro-active official, working hard to improve all aspects of the association and in Ballycumber and Ferbane, considerable off field development work took place during his tenure – he was chairman of Ballycumber during the 1990s and served Ferbane in this role in the 2010s and 2020s.

He was chairman of the Offaly GAA County Board from 2005 to 2007, during a period when the redevelopment of O’Connor Park was ongoing and he also launched underage county football and hurling academies, appointing voluntary directors of football and hurling to oversee these.

In Ballycumber, he was chairman when they erected new floodlights in the late 1990s. They were one of the first clubs in Offaly to provide these while another highlight was the organisation of a major tribute night for his uncle, Bill Kelly, a renowned local GAA supporter and worker – all seven of Offaly's All-Ireland senior winning captains, Willie Bryan, Tony McTague, Richie Connor, Padraig Horan, Pat Fleury, Martin Hanamy and Hubert Rigney were guests of honour at that function with hundreds thronging into the Community Centre.

He was a very talented player in his youth and the high point of his career was winning a Senior Football Championship medal with Ballycumber in 1968 – that was a stunning success for the club as they won their only title by shocking a very strong Gracefield outfit in the final.

He played minor and U-21 football for Offaly, playing on the side that lost to Louth in the 1970 Leinster U-21 football final. He won a junior “B” football medal with Ballycumber in 1977, towards the end of his playing career.

After he stopped playing, he was a prolific and very successful trainer of club teams in the 1980s and 1990s, leading many to championship success in various grades. Among the clubs he enjoyed success with in the 1980s were St Rynagh's, Durrow and Doon. He led Clara to a famous Senior Football Championship title in 1991, their first since 1964, and they went to the Leinster club final that year, losing out agonisingly to Thomas Davis of Dublin. He had a great appetite for training teams and loved the interaction with players and club officers.

He managed Offaly junior footballers to provincial glory in 2001, losing out to Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final.

His managerial heyday was in the 1980s and early 1990s when he enjoyed most of his club success.

He managed Offaly U-21 footballers in 1982 – in an extraordinary County Board vote at the time, he unseated senior manager Eugene McGee, 59-13 that February. McGee had managed the senior and U-21 footballers for the previous handful of years but delegates decided to have separate managers with the Longford man leading Offaly to All-Ireland senior football glory just a few months later.

He was occasionally beaten in votes for positions on county managements in the 1980s and 1990s but did stints on various set-ups, including the seniors.

He also regularly served on committees charged with getting county football managements and he was one of the ten man review group who recommended the sacking of Edenderry man Paul O’Kelly as manager in 2003. Their recommendation was passed by the County Board, leading to controversy and consternation in some quarters, particularly in a seething Edenderry club – a number of their members resigned off County Board committees and from various roles in protest.

The committee themselves had made their recommendation after a split vote and each member got considerable slack afterwards. While Ollie Daly told a County Board meeting at the time that he would say he was “playing golf” if asked to serve on such a committee again, this was very much tongue in cheek, he stood over the decision and the fallout in no way disillusioned him from the GAA – in fact, it was the opposite as he was elected to the top GAA role in the county within a couple of years.

In 2004, Gerry Fahy resigned as senior football manager after narrowly surviving a County Board vote and uproar erupted again, this time leading to a so called strike by the county senior football panel, who downed tools. Eventually, former manager Eugene McGee brokered a comprehensive agreement between the warring players and County Board officers.

This agreement dealt with issues such as player welfare, payment of expenses and their entitlements as well as the procedure for appointing team managements in the future. The players had released a statement outlining their grievances in the early days of the dispute and while the County Board prepared a comprehensive response, they decided it would add fuel to the fire if released and opted not to.

In 2005, Ollie Daly had a stunning triumph in a contest for chairman, leaving future Offaly and Leinster Council chairman and then warm favourite Pat Teehan among the vanquished – he had previously ran unsuccessfully for chairman when Gracefield’s Tommy Byrne was elected for his first stint in 2002. He was eager for that role, canvassed extensively and engaged his vast network of friends from all parts of the county.

At his first County Board meeting after taking charge in 2005, he read out the board’s unreleased response to the players’ complaints, saying that there was more than one side to the story. Their response was a mixture of clarification of some points, downright rejection of others and apologies for shortcomings.

He was a witty, gregarious chairman, displaying great passion and making a memorable speech about his intentions and ambitions after being elected as he promised to lead and not to be led – to engage with all and consult wisely but to be his own man and make his own decisions.

He did not shy away from confrontation during his term in charge. When minor football manager Phil O’Reilly jnr (Tullamore) resigned over a fixtures clash with their preparations in 2005, he told a County Board meeting that they would put out a team, irrespective of what management or the panel of players did – the fixtures went ahead as fixed but the team management returned and led Offaly to a great win over Meath.

As Pat Roe struggled to get selectors in 2007, he told a board meeting that he had asked thirty people and got thirty rejections – a statement that did not exactly lead to a rush as anyone subsequently approached knew they were not in the top thirty but it was all part of his charm: he was honest and said things as they were.

In his last year as chairman in 2007, he had a furious row with Coiste na nOg chairman Fergal McKeown, threatening to resign. That row erupted when McKeown queried, in very strong terms, a statement by Daly that the Management Committee would be sanctioned for not selling their quota of tickets for the O’Connor Park development draw.

The Management Committee initially proposed a 48 week ban for Fergal McKeown and the duo had a furious row at a County Board meeting with both men walking out and saying they were resigning – Daly went further by stating that he would see his adversary “in court”. At the following County Board meeting, peace restored after initial stormy exchanges with McKeown apologising after seeking a recess to discuss the matter with Ollie Daly. The proposed suspension on McKeown was withdrawn at that stage.

After stepping down as chairman in 2007, he went for the Offaly senior football manager’s job himself but was soon ruled out and went in as a selector under Richie Connor – the Offaly football legend’s reign proved short-lived as he resigned following a players’ rebellion early in the National Football League in spring 2009.

Ollie Daly also ran as Central Council delegate in 2012 but was beaten by Pat Teehan in a poll.

He was a hugely popular individual, known far and wide. Obliging and helpful, you would have to search long and hard to find people with anything negative to say about Ollie and he had an endearing manner.

He was a non drinker but loved the social scene and ran a successful pub in Ballycumber for a number of years in the 1990s. Called Healy's and located on the Clara-Rahan side of the village, this was a great GAA house, attracting customers from Ballycumber, Clara, Pullough, Doon, Rahan on a regular basis as well as occasional visitors from further afield. He loved seeing GAA people come in through the doors and chatting with them.

Healy's was later leased by former Offaly football hero, Vinny Claffey for a spell in the 2000s before the shutters came down and it joined the ranks of rural pubs no longer open.

He worked in the TV rental business early in his adulthood and later worked for a satellite television company before retirement some years ago.

He loved attending games, in both codes, travelling all over Offaly for club games and all over the country for county games. He was a great conversationalist, mighty company, a character, he was a class act and he had a word for everyone.

He had a huge appetite for GAA work. He loved his own Ballycumber area and devoted decades of his life to the GAA there but when he decided to switch his allegiance to Ferbane, he did so with every fibre of his being. While Ferbane is only a few miles from Ballycumber, he had lived there at Gallen View for most of his adult life, his children were reared there and played their football with Ferbane and he wanted to acknowledge this by doing his bit for the club.

He certainly did this in fairly spectacular fashion, serving a couple of stints as chairman over a few years – he was there when Ferbane ended a long famine by winning the Senior Football Championship in 2019 and plenty of off field development took place during his spell in charge.

He was the essential Offaly man, loyal to every part and aspect of his county. He travelled to Offaly Association dinner dances and functions in New York and London for years. He went to St Patrick's Day parades in New York, regularly staying with Offaly football folk legend, Peter Nolan, a Clara native, and his wife Patricia, there.

He really loved those trips, meeting Offaly emigrants and hearing their stories, going to Gaelic Park in New York, Ruislip in London. He enjoyed holidays and group trips abroad and lived life to the full.

Unfortunately his health went against him in the past couple of years. He had a famous sweet tooth and got diabetes, leading to a leg being amputated – he had a quadruple heart bypass some years ago. Even as he dealt with the physical and mental challenges of losing a leg as he adapted to a wheelchair, he continued to get out and about and meet people. He remained a familiar figure at games and was at most of Offaly's home National Football and Hurling League games in O'Connor Park this year, where he enjoyed meeting long time friends and GAA colleagues. The welcome he was afforded and the respect shown to him left him in no doubt about his popularity.

He was a very proud man when he attended the official opening of Ballycumber GAA's splendid new Activity Centre last year and it was quite an emotional occasion for him as locals and visitors made a point of greeting him – he was not long out of hospital at that stage.

He also saw his own popularity when a Go Fund Me page was set up to help renovate his Gallen View home to make it accessible as the initial €40,000 target was easily met and €51,000 exceeded before the stop button was pressed with Offaly people subscribing from all over the county and abroad – many of them former players and officials. That fundraiser was only set up just before Christmas and closed down over a month ago. Its success was no more than he deserved as he was a fantastic supporter of GAA and charitable causes himself, was a terrific fundraiser and was also noted for his generosity in a variety of ways. He was a prolific seller of Ferbane GAA lotto tickets in recent years and the sight of him selling to locals each week in the town was a familiar one as he engaged with passer-bys.

Unfortunately, his health declined further recently and his passing has been greeted with great sadness by all who had the privilege of knowing him and enjoying his company over the years.

In his mid 70s and father to three sons, Gary, Paul and Ronan, he was very proud of his children. He also leaves behind his partner, Bridget; brothers Chris and Brendan; sisters, Marie, Carmel, Patricia and Nuala; relatives and a very wide circle of friends. May he rest in peace.