The death took place at the weekend of one of Clare’s best known footballers, Tommy Mangan from Kilrush.
Captain of the Clare team which won the Munster minor football championship title when defeating Cork in 1953, before losing out to Mayo in the All-Ireland final, he starred for his beloved Kilrush shamrocks for many years.
He helped Kilrush to four Clare senior championship titles in 1957, 1958, 1960 and 1962.
A regular on the Clare senior team throughout that time he represented Munster in the Railway cup in 1959 and 1960.
In an online tribute, Kilrush Shamrocks described Tommy as “one of our most legendary club members and was very successful on the field. A player who was teak tough with a no nonsense attitude that allowed him to thrive in the era he graced, he accompanied this with a classy style that would have allowed him to dominate in the faster paced modern game. It’s no wonder one of his nicknames was ‘Mr. Football’”.
He went on to devote many years to coaching underage teams in his beloved Kilrush club.
Tommy, who was 90, was a very successful publican running his own business in Kilrush for many years until his retirement.
Members of Kilrush Shamrocks will form a guard of honour as his remains arrived at St Senan’s church in Kilrush on Wednesday evening.
Requiem mass takes place this Thursday at 11am, following this he will be laid to rest in New Shanakyle cemetery.