Death of former Offaly footballer who won senior football medals with three different teams

THE death has taken place of a former Offaly footballer from the 1960s and one of the county's most passionate GAA supporters.

88 years of age, Frank Higgins, Annamoe, Portarlington was a member of the first great Offaly football panel, the 1960 and 1961 Leinster senior football champions.

A very proud Gracefield club man, he made 22 league and championship appearances for Offaly senior footballers from 1957 to 1968 and came on as a sub in the famous 1961 All-Ireland senior football final defeat by Down.

A defender, 21 of his appearances came from 1957 to 1963 while he made a comeback in 1968, playing at full forward in a championship win over Louth.

He grew up in the Offaly side of Portarlington and was a key figure for Gracefield while he later transferred to Rhode and won a Senior Football Championship title with them in 1967 – he played in the attack and his performances with them won him a recall to the Offaly senior football panel.

He worked in Rhode Power Station and lived in St Patrick's Avenue on the Rochfortbridge side of Rhode at that time. A tough footballer, he made a point of looking out for young team mates, especially if they were targeted for physical punishment, and is remembered with great fondness in Rhode but he was most closely associated with Gracefield GAA Club. He won a Junior Football Championship medal with Gracefield in 1958. They combined with the Geashill-Cloneygowan club of St Mary's to win the Senior Football Championship as St Patrick's in 1959. With an exciting young team emerging, Gracefield went on their own straight away, winning intermediate football in 1960 and they won their first Senior Football Championship title in 1961 with Frank Higgins one of their stars and the team captain. After playing with Rhode, he returned to finish out his club career with Gracefield and had just finished up by the time they won another senior football title in 1970.

Frank qualified as a fitter with ESB, working in Lanesboro, Rhode Power Station and various other places and then went back to school, qualifying as a metal work secondary school teacher from Bolton Street. He worked in the secondary school in Mountmellick until taking early retirement in the late 1990s – his wife Bridie, a Guinan, from Geashill was a national school teacher and taught in the long defunct school at the Meelaghans, between Tullamore and Geashill and later, near Rosenallis

He lived a long life and retained an infectiously passionate interest in Offaly GAA throughout. He was an Offaly senior football selector for a spell in the mid 1980s. While he was a real football man, he also had a terrific interest in hurling and greatly enjoyed that game as well.

An articulate, well spoken man, he revelled in in-depth conversations about the GAA, analysing games, players and prospects. He was never shy about expressing an opinion but they were always sincere and compassionately expounded. He was a regular visitor to Tullamore in his long years of retirement and enjoyed meeting people.

A true gentleman, his range of interests went far beyond the GAA. He was a great exponent of the Irish language, a very good native speaker and loved history. He had a powerful interest in his native county and area, the bogs and its history. He loved wildlife, the environment, fishing and shooting and also lived in Croghan and Mountmellick before moving into Annamoe, near Portarlington.

Frank made a great contribution to life, he was popular, personable, a great conversationalist, inoffensive and good company.

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A proud family man, he will be deeply missed by his loving wife of 62 years, Bridie (nee Guinan); children, Críona, Ciarán, Maeve and Áine and beloved father-in-law to Paraic, Louise and Alan; grandchildren Conor, Laura, Naoise, Jack, Oisín, Lucy, Mark and Caitn; his sister Greta, brothers Brian and Dermot, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, wider family and a large circle of friends.

Reposing at Maher's Chapel of Rest, Portarlington (eircode R32 X5XV) on Sunday evening from 6pm with Rosary at 8pm. Removal on Monday morning at 11:20am arriving St Michael's Church, Portarlington (eircode R32 HY38) for Requiem Mass at 12 noon. Funeral afterwards to St Michael's Cemetery, Portarlington.