Seamus O’Brien A Gentleman and an Outstanding G.A.A. Official

The G.A.A. is full of heroes and heroines, men and women who unselfishly get involved at different levels within the Association.

Some of those men and women are players. Others are players who when their playing careers come to an end decide to stay involved maybe as a coach, an administrator or a referee. Some former players have risen to the top of what they set their sights on whatever they decided to do once their playing days are over. Some of those that have carved out a successful career (if you want to call it that) in the G.A.A. once their playing days are over were good, sometimes even excellent players. For others who get involved in coaching, administration or refereeing they might not even have kicked or pucked a ball - let alone have a successful playing career.

I am someone who would not have played any competitive hurling or football game, but would have stood on a playing area while in school and made a bit of a nuisance of myself for others who could actually play, or at least done so much better than I could.

Not playing has not stopped me from having an interest in the games I so much love. For over a decade I got involved in the administration side of things at Club level as well as at Bord na nÓg Level at Divisional and County Level and also serving on two different sub committee’s of the County Adult Board for a few years before getting involved in what I am doing right now, something I enjoy most when it comes to the G.A.A.

In my time as an Administrator and a Reporter (if you want to call me that) I have come in contact with a number of different people who have helped and advised me along the way. I have worked alongside some very good men and women, all of whom I valued what they tried to pass onto me and assisted me in whatever when they could when I might have gone to them for any help that I might have needed.

One man that I always loved working alongside was Abbeyside man Seamus O’Brien, who I worked alongside with at Divisional and County Board levels with Board na nÓg and again when the two of us were members of the County Communications and Publications Committee under the chairmanship of another Abbeyside man Joe Cleary for a number of years.

Seamus is someone that I would have known to see practically all my life. From a very young age I would addend games which the Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s G.A.A. Club along with my late Father Michael and his sister Joan and would often see Seamus at games. Occasionally I would have saluted him at games or if I passed him if I saw him Dungarvan but it was not until 1999 when I got involved in West Waterford Bord na nÓg as its secretary that I really got to know Seamus who was the register for West Waterford and the County at the time and quickly began to really admire his encyclopaedic mind when it came to all things G.A.A.

On getting involved Seamus took me aside and gave me a copy of the most up to date rule book at the time and advised me to go through it and to get to know the different rules, telling me that if ever I was unsure of something I could call him at any time and if he was not available when I rang he could get back to me as soon as he could, and he was true to his word anytime I did have to contact him. Even at the limited number of meetings we held while I was secretary if something came up and there was an element of doubt, either I as secretary or John O’Brien and then Eddie O’Shea as Chairman would only have to look at Seamus and say his name and without checking any rule in the book he was able to answer anything that needed to be answered and he was never wrong in what he would say when we would check up on a rule number to quote it in any correspondence that went out to clubs.

Seamus O’Brien was born in 1921 and all throughout his life was actively involved in the G.A.A. It’s fair to say that he was even looking forward to seeing the Waterford hurlers playing that weekend and reporting on the game in the Dungarvan Leader next Wednesday.

In 2007, fifty years after he began to write a weekly column in the Dungarvan Leader, Dungarvan Town Council decided to honour the Abbeyside man.

On that occasion, the then Mayor of Dungarvan, Cllr Damien Geoghegan said of Seamus “Seamus has made a difference to those around him, and has enriched, through his many talents, the lives of the people whom he has encountered and has also enhanced the quality of life in his own community. What Seamus has achieved was done without fuss or the fanfare of publicity, usually working quietly and efficiently in the background, yet always achieving a great deal, generally for the benefit of others.” This quote really summed up Seamus and will be how he is remembered.

Seamus as a young man took up a position within the post office as a telegram boy and later became a postman in the Piltown and Kilmacthomas before taking up a position in Dungarvan in the early 1950’s.

Working in Kilmacthomas proved to be a lucky thing for Seamus as it was here that he met Cáit McGrath who he later married and spent 50 years together and raised a family of eight between them who were all very important to Seamus, as were his Grand Children and Great Grandchildren in later life.

It is through the G.A.A. that most knew Seamus, not just in Waterford but up and down the country.

He took up a position of Secretary of the Abbeyside Hurling and Football Club in the mid 1950’s and in 1960 he was elected as secretary of the West Waterford Board, a position he remained in for over two decades.

In the early 1970’s Seamus made a bid to become the County Board Secretary when the position became available, but he was narrowly missed out in a contest against Seamus Grant, a man that he became great friends with though the G.A.A.

In the 1970’s he became the Counties Central Council Representative and held onto the position until he had to relinquish the position as a result of the (Controversial – in the eyes of some) five year rule a few years previous which limits all non full time officers with the exception of the Treasurer to holding the same position for more than five years.

As a Central Council representative he was invited to be part of many different committees and National Level where he became an important figure as he had amassed a great knowledge of the G.A.A. and its rules down the years and could be called upon at any time to give clarification on any issue.

Within the county Seamus was also seen as an important figure to be on any committee. He served as Secretary of the Fraher Field Committee for a time and was also a secretary of Coiste Peil.

He was invited by a number of successive County PRO’s to be part of the County Communications where he could at short notice pen a piece for an upcoming match programme or pull together some facts and figures. He was also involved in Bord na nÓg at Divisional and County Level for many years.

In 1957, Seamus began to write the ‘Commentator’ Column each week for the Dungarvan Leader. The Column was always well thought out and views expressed were always fair. It was a must read each week for many of the papers readers.

Seamus not only served the area he lived in through the G.A.A.

He was heavily involved in many different committees and groups. In his earlier days he was involved with the Scouts in the Abbeyside area. In the early 1940’s he joined the FCA and continued to be involved until 1967 when he retired holding the rank of Captain and Company Commander of the Dungarvan Companies 13^th Battalion.

He was very involved in putting the Abbeyside Parish Newsletter together and was also heavily involved with the Abbeyside Reference Archive group where he served as Chairman of the group for many years.

He was also involved with the Abbeyside, Ballinroad and Garranbane Senior Citizens Group and was also a chairman of the West Waterford Emigrants Committee.

Seamus was actively involved in all he did throughout his life, and it was only a short view days before his death that he rang me to know if I knew something off hand that he was trying to find out for his column in the Dungarvan Leader.

In March of 2013, the Inaugural Abbeyside Community Sports Awards took place at Minnie’s in the village.

How apt it is now, that the people of the area who are involved in the different sports club in the area honour Seamus with one of its inaugural ‘Hall of Fame’ awards. The others to be honoured on the night were John Woods, John Walsh, Br Finbarr Spring O.S.A. and former Waterford hurler Austin Flynn.

When a person dies, the words Gentleman or Lady are often brandished when talking about the person that has died.

Seamus O’Brien was one of these Gentlemen. There can be no doubting about this. Seamus was a friend to everyone that had the honour of knowing him, and he counted those he worked with on different committees as his friends as well.

He was a man that you could turn to for advice and he would give you great advice. When he suspected that there might be something on the mind of someone, Seamus would lend you his ear, and what was said to him it could be said hardly went any further.

If and when the history of the G.A.A. in Waterford is compiled, it has to be assumed that on more than once occasion Seamus O’Brien will get a mention as someone that had as much interest in the up and coming players down the years as he had in the county senior hurling and football teams of the day.

This could be proven around the turn of the Millennium when there was moves within Croke Park to abolish the annual Tony Forristal and Sonny Walsh Tournaments in Waterford City, something that Seamus was not in favour of and would have met with Central Council delegates and officers of Bord na nÓg and Adult Bord’s up and down the country at the time to try and win their support to make sure that this did not happen. Thankfully because of the hard work of Seamus and others at the time, the Tournament remained and is still growing from strength to strength today, two decades on, attracting the stars of the future to venues in Waterford City over the last weekend of August each year.

Seamus died on May 29, 2013.