Earlier this month, Thomas Leahy followed in the footsteps of his father Michael by becoming Chairman of the Munster Football Association.
Remarkably they are the only people from Clare to have served in the position and on top of that they are the first father and son to be M.F.A Chairman. “It is something special, we never thought of it. I think Dad was Chairman in 2008 and when he finished up as delegate for Clare he asked me would I be interested in going and I’ve been going since and I was elected Chairman this year,” Thomas told The Clare Echo.
Having been Vice Chairman for two years, Leahy now has equally as long in the Chair. His biggest hope in this time is to see success for a team from his county. “I’d love to see a Clare team lift a provincial title whether it’s at youths level or junior level but no Clare team have done it yet and I’ve a feeling that hopefully in the next two years it will come through that I’ll be able to present a Clare junior or youths team with a Munster trophy”.
The Ruan man added, “I actually get a seat on the FAI Junior Council aswell so I’ll be pretty active in Dublin and Cork and I get to travel around to all the leagues to their AGMs so it will be interesting to see how other leagues operate compared to ourselves”.
Michael’s reaction to his son becoming the second Clare man to take on the role was very positive. “He was very proud of me, he’s a great man in fairness to him and he was a great Chairman and I’d be lucky if I did half the job he did I’d be doing a good job”.
Tommy was well prepped for the gig as his father had some words of advice before he got to work. “He said to watch out for the cute Cork lads, he gave me a good insight on the politics and I didn’t go in there wide eyed”.
*Photograph by Martin Connolly
