RETIRED DEPUTY Garda Commissioner, Anne Marie McMahon has been named as the Clare Person of the Year for 2024 while a hall of fame award is to be issued to former Clare manager Colm Collins.
By Tony Mulvey
This week, the Clare Association Dublin named the Kilmurry McMahon native as the Clare Person of the Year.
Colm Collins, Clare’s former senior football manager, a native of Kilmihil has been named as the recipient of the Association’s Hall of Fame Award.
Both Anne Marie and Colm will be presented with their awards at the association’s annual awards function at the Luca Spa Hotel, Dublin on October 26th.
Only the second woman in history to serve as Deputy Commissioner, Anne Marie McMahon held the role in an acting capacity in 2020 following in the footsteps of Noirin O’ Sullivan. She joined the An Garda Siochána in 1986 and served in Coolock (Dublin), Henry Street (Limerick) and with the United Nations in Cambodia. She was previously Assistant Commissioner Southern Region from 2016 to 2020 and before that was Director of Training and Development, Garda College in Templemore.
Among the senior roles she held in An Garda Siochána were Chief Superintendent of the Garda Community Relations Bureau and Superintendent in both Roxboro Road (Limerick) and Bruff, Co. Limerick and Inspector in Henry Street (Limerick). She retired as Deputy Garda Commissioner earlier this year. She holds an MBS (honours) Human Resource Management from the University of Limerick and a BA (honours) in Police Management, Garda College. She also received a Diploma in Business and Executive Coaching ( Distinction) Smurfit Business School.
She is the second Kilmurry McManon native to receive the Clare Person of the Year award. A previous winner in 2002 was the late Brother Sean MacNamara, Ennis CBS, one of Co. Clare’s best known personalities for many years and whose death occurred on June 17th 2023.
One of the most successful football managers in the history of Clare GAA, Colm Collins played football with Kilmihil with whom he won under 21 honours and was a member of the Kilmihil team which won the club’s only senior football championship title in 1980.
He took over as Clare senior football manager in 2013 when Clare were playing in Division Four of the Allianz National Football League. He led them to Division three, then to Division Two and was very unlucky on two occasions not to have them promoted to the top division. Under his management Clare played Division Two football for ten consecutive years. He managed Clare when they reached the Munster SFC final in 2023 and the guided them to contest two All-Ireland quarter-finals.
At local level he steered Cratloe football teams to win county championship titles including two senior titles with his sons Sean, Podge and David involved.
Meanwhile members of the Clare Association Dublin are also making plans for their annual charity walk which will be held on September 29. This year it will honour the late Ita O’ Looney, who died earlier this year. A native of Inagh, she was a supporter and popular member of the Clare Association. Proceeds from the walk will go towards the Clare Crusaders Clinic in Barefield.
