*Clare GAA HOO Deirdre Murphy speaking in Amharclann Breandán Ó Beacháin
ONE OF the county’s most iconic GAA figures has been remembered with the renaming of the meeting room at the refurbished county GAA headquarters named in his memory.
Family of the late Brendan Vaughan including his wife Deirdre and children Donnacha and Caoilfhionn were present in Clareabbey on Saturday evening as Clare GAA officially opened their refurbished headquarters and paid tribute by naming the meeting room, Amharclann Breandán Ó Beacháin in honour of the decades of work that Brendan Vaughan has done on behalf of Clare GAA.
A lifelong member of the GAA until his death in June 2005, Brendan served on the Executive of Clare GAA in several roles including two terms as Chairman. He also served as chairman of the Munster Council.
Vaughan was a member of the Clooney/Quin club with whom he played at every level and represented at the County Board up to the time of his death. He was chairman of the county board from 1975 to 1980 when he spearheaded Cusack Park’s redevelopment. He was also instrumental in influencing clubs throughout the county to purchase and develop their own playing facilities. In the mid 1980s he was Chairman of the Munster council for three years and he returned as chairman of the county board in 1990.
Back in the early seventies Brendan was Clare’s central council delegate for a number of years and he also served as assistant treasurer (’75), P.R.O. (81′) and development officer (’87). At the time of his death he was president of Clare GAA, a position he was unanimously elected to at the June 2005 meeting of the County Board.
A national teacher by profession, he served as principal at St. Senans N.S. in Shannon from 1964 until his retirement in 1997. He founded the primary schools GAA board in Clare in the 1960s. During his life he promoted the Irish language, history, music and culture. He also was a very strong advocate of civil rights and worked very hard for the rights of the Travelling Community.
Head of Operations with Clare GAA, Deirdre Murphy said she was “thrilled” to have the Vaughan family in attendance for the official opening of their new facilities. “Since I’ve came into this role, Clooney/Quin have never got harder draws, the only hit of pull I had was to name this room after him”. She also read Jimmy Smyth’s poem about Brendan.
Chairman of Munster GAA, Ger Ryan said it was “highly appropriate” that the meeting room was named in honour of Brendan. “Brendan Vaughan is an iconic figure in Munster GAA, he has had a huge influence on gaelic games and Clare GAA. We treasure his memory in Munster GAA, the impact he has made to the GAA is still felt”.
Two-time All-Ireland winning manager, Ger Loughnane admitted he would never have received the Clare job only for Brendan. “I regard Brendan as the greatest true GAA man in all branches of it, hurling, football, the culture of the GAA in music, song and dance, Scór, he embraced every aspect of it”.
Vaughan’s role in embracing people from all backgrounds in the early days of Shannon Town and how he championed for Travellers to be educated was also recalled by Loughnane. Their first clash was during a schools game in Shannon, Vaughan was involved with St Senan’s NS and Loughnane with St Conaire’s NS and the dispute was when a then primary school student by the name of Alan Cunningham hit a shot which Loughnane said was a goal and Vaughan argued was a point, “we’ll say there was an exchange, I referred to his lack of eyesight and he said go away you bush man from Feakle, that was the start of our friendship”.
A column that Brendan used to write in The Clare Champion was also recalled by Loughnane, “He gave it to us, he was a pundit before Joe Brolly or Donal Óg”. John Maughan’s arrival to Clare which resulted in the county winning the 1992 Munster SFC was also due to Vaughan, Ger said. “I would never have been manager of the Clare team only for Brendan,” the Feakle native said while describing him as “a real renaissance man”.
Brendan’s son Donnacha said he was “speechless”. He outlined, “being here really drives home the magnitude of what he achieved. In June it will be 20 years since he passed away, it’s all too soon because he would have loved to be there in 2013 for Clare winning the All Ireland and again this year for All Ireland and the National League”.
He said that every aspect of the GAA is covered in his father’s files which he has been studying. “I want to thank all those involved in making this happens, as his son;it is wonderful to know he made such a difference in his life time,” the Newmarket-on-Fergus native commented.
