Clare camogie richer for presence of Jimmy Kenny & poorer for his passing

*Jimmy Kenny in Cusack Park. Photograph: David Dillon

CAMOGIE CIRCLES in Clare were plunged into mourning following the sudden passing of Jimmy Kenny.

Kilkenny native, Jimmy who resided in Cloughleigh died suddenly on Friday. He began to feel unwell earlier that day when working at Fr McNamara Park, the Clare Camogie grounds and the location in which supporters of all ages became acquainted with him. He was field manager at the county grounds, putting in several hours to the upkeep of the facility along with his good friend Mike Duggan.

He served as a Development Officer with Clare Camogie and had been involved with several underage teams at county level.

Before the start of both the senior and intermediate camogie finals which took place in Cusack Park and Fr McNamara Park respectively at the weekend, Clare Camogie PRO Brid MacNamara paid tribute to Jimmy with a minute’s silence also held in his memory.

Brid said the entire camogie community in Clare was in “deep shock”. She stated, “Jimmy was a true gift to Clare Camogie. A constant presence in Fr. McNamara Park where he looked after the development of our County Grounds, from cutting the pitch, lining the field, parking our cars, the maintenance of our club house and grounds and his secret love, umpiring for numerous referees”.

For development blitzes be it in Clare or further afield, Brid recalled how he “always had his bag of treats and cookies for the players”.

She added, “Jim may have hailed from Kilkenny but he had thick Banner blood running though his veins. A current coach to the Banner Gaa Ennis Ladies Junior Camogie Team his skills were many. His kindness to all shone through, whether it was finding a missing hurley in Fr Mc Park or squeezing another car into the carpark so someone didn’t have far to walk. Jimmy never sought the limelight and ran a mile when he saw a camera”.

“A familiar face to many in the Camogie circles, we were most definitely the richer for his presence and are now the poorer for his passing,” the Ruan woman concluded.

Moments after helping Scariff/Ogonnelloe win the senior camogie championship, Ciara Doyle took a moment to pay tribute to Jimmy. “There’s a lot of darkness over today and I can’t go without mentioning the passing of Jimmy Kenny, he was such a stalwart of Clare camogie, he was the first person you’d always see coming in the gate of Fr McNamara Park and the last person you’d see leaving. I was privileged to be involved in an U16 team with Jim many years ago and I got to train an U14 team with him, his kindness knew no end, he is such a loss and will be a huge loss to the Clare camogie community”.