*Pat Begley.
PAT BEGLEY has been remembered as Ennistymon’s greatest footballer and an honourable member of An Garda Síochána who didn’t possess a bad bone in his body and was the ultimate family man.
A Clare senior footballer for over a decade, Pat was laid to rest in his adopted county of Limerick on Monday. Representatives from Ennistymon football club joined and An Garda Siochána provided a guard of honour as his remains were carried from St. Nessan’s Church in Raheen.
Members of other GAA clubs from Clare and Limerick also joined in the guard of honour, demonstrating the respect Pat was held in. He died on Friday February 6th following a short illness.
Born on July 17th 1953, Pat inherited strong sporting genes with his father Paddy also lining out for Clare and Munster, a feat his son also accomplished. His brother Michael also played for Clare and Mayo.
Indeed the genes have been passed on with Pat’s son Brian representing Limerick at senior level in hurling and football, Patrick lining out for Limerick’s senior footballers while his grandson Killian of Mungret St Paul’s is one of the star players with the Limerick minor hurlers. Pat was an all-round champion at the peak of the Garda championships in the 1970s winning sprint and jumping titles.
Former Clare Chief Superintendent, John Kerin noted that Pat was “a great family man”. He said, “the minute you entered the house you knew the love and happiness was there from the whole family. I was in his house on a number of occasions, with his wife Nancy and their children they were just the happiest and united family, he was so proud of them but he was never boasting about their achievements”.
On and off the field, Pat was a leader and encouraged those around him, his ability to get the best out of young people was among his many achievements, this also became evident during his retirement from the Gardaí when he worked in the Tutorial College in Limerick.
Gerry Reidy who was a selector when Ennistymon won their intermediate championship and league double in 1987 with Pat at centre back described him as “a true great of Ennistymon and Clare football”.
Reidy recalled, “Everything successful in Ennistymon football since the 1970s was all around him. He was at the core of firsts, the first Clare schools title won by the CBS in 1971, the first minor football championship with St Bridget’s in 1971, the first U21 championship with St Michael’s in 1973. There was no intermediate at the time so he went straight to Junior and he won his first Junior A title with St Michael’s in 1973. He was at the centre of all that success. He was playing in 1987 when Ennistymon won the league and championship double and our intermediate championship in 1991. He was at the centre of all that, you take a lot of this stuff for granted, he was recognised for his skill and for his support as he moved on to younger players, he always gave young lads advice and the leadership, status and respect he was held in ensured it was took on, he inspired players around him”. St Bridget’s and St Michael’s was an amalgamation of Ennistymon and Liscannor which ceased in the 1970s.
He added, “in my memory he was the greatest player we had, his skill and his athleticism, he showed that in the Gardaí too, he was a national sprint championship winner, in my view he was the greatest footballer to come out of Ennistymon. Centre back was his best position, he played there with Clare and Ennistymon, he was a real powerhouse, a real leader on the field and one of the things that will be his legacy is his support in guiding and minding young players, an awful lot of players who came after him will recognise him for that. It is no coincidence that Pat was at the heart of all the success Ennistymon had in this era, it started with the schools, it started with CBS winning that first championship in 1971”.
Publican Murty McMahon formed part of the Ennistymon defence with Pat. “He was one of the best players I played with, I was corner back and he was centre, he was very solid, there was no fear with him in front of me. He was a fantastic player, he was great with those coming up behind him and he guided us all, he stayed on playing till he was nearly forty. He was a great lad to get lads going, he left every bit of sweat on the field, he never let you down”.
A love of Ennistymon and North Clare always remained within Pat’s heart, Murty noted. “He was always calling and would pop in to say hello whenever he was in Ennistymon or Lahinch. I only met him three months before he died, he hadn’t changed a bit, he was hale and hearty, he was in great form, I couldn’t believe it when I had heard he got sick, I got very upset to be honest and it upset the whole community here. I was delighted to see so many ex-Clare players at his funeral, it showed what they thought of him”.
Murty added, “Pat Begley would probably be the top man in Ennistymon, we’ve had some great players but he was one of the longest serving, he captained Ennistymon in 1991 to win the intermediate championship, it was a great breakthrough”.
Brendan ‘Beano’ Rouine who was part of the Clare Munster SFC winning panel of 1992 told The Clare Echo, “Pat was a great players man and first getting to play adult football with him in the late 80’s was an honour. Pat was one of those characters on the team that very much looked out for the younger players coming through. When Pat and a few more of that era were on the field you knew that no opposing player would be let away with any devilment to the younger lads. In the days pre-physio and modern science, Pat was always sure to have some homemade concoction in the dressing room, and whether you drank it or rubbed it into the muscles he made sure you smelt fit and felt fit at least. Pat was a great character and all our thoughts are with the loss he is to his family. Pat will always be remembered fondly in Ennistymon football club”.
Post playing, Pat was part of the Clare senior football management under Tommy Curtin before taking on the role of county manager in September 2000, winning the McGrath Cup in his final season in charge and coming narrowly close to beating Cork in the 2001 Munster senior football semi-final played in Páirc Uí Chaoimh when a Michael O’Shea effort was denied by the crossbar, while also ending Derry’s unbeaten run in the National League in 2000. “It is a great honour but a huge task, I will give it my best shot” Pat said following his appointment. Prior to this, he managed the Limerick minor footballers in 1997, guiding them to reach a first Munster final in forty two years, he trained the Limerick U21s in 1998 and 1999.
His management team with Clare were selectors, John Kerin, John McCarthy, trainer Tomás Queally and masseur Dan O’Halloran. Speaking to The Clare Echo, Kerin remembered Pat as “very genuine, sincere, decent person, very witty, very funny. I’ve been reading all the tributes and condolences, I don’t think he was described as anything other than a gentleman. He worked in Limerick during really rough times, he was very sincere in his work but when you leave that aside, he was great craic and great fun. When he was involved with Clare, he was very respected by the players, he was a great footballer in his day like his father and brother. He was held in such high esteem, I don’t think he had a bad bone in his body and I genuinely didn’t hear anyone say a bad word about him”.
What you saw with Pat was what you got, John noted. “When I look back now, Fr McNamara was Chairman at the time, Michael Lee was Vice Chairman, John McCarthy was selector, Tom Downes was our liaison officer, Dan O’Halloran was our masseur, sadly they have all died and only Tomás Queally and myself from the set-up are still alive”.
Reflecting on Pat’s tenure, John admitted the one regret was not getting over the line against Cork in the 2001 semi-final and agreeing to play a Munster semi-final replay versus Tipperary when weather conditions left the Gaelic Grounds in a poor state. “Pat really respected the players and they respected him, he wasn’t in their face or wasn’t a bully, he wasn’t a modern scientific manager no more than I wasn’t a modern selector, we were old fashioned but he was a good man manager, he got the best out of the players, the players knew he was genuine and committed”.
Bellharbour native Kerin also served as Pat’s boss when serving as a Detective Inspector at Henry St in Limerick with Begley a Detective. “He was in a special branch, he was mainly involved in pervasive activity which was very strong. Pat was a good friend of Jerry McCabe, we had really dark days and we also lost another good friend in Ben O’Sullivan, it was tough times but Pat was always at the shoulder, no matter what had to be done he did it and did it with a great sincerity. Outside of the work environment, he was the joker and full of devilment, he loved company and people loved being with him, he wasn’t loud or abrasive, he was unassuming and what I’d describe as a quintessential Clare country man, he was the salt of the earth and rooted in where he came from”.
Pat played an important role in helping to transform Limerick City from a safety perspective. “We worked together for seven years in Limerick in really tough times when gangland murders were a daily occurrence. Pat was never found wanting during this time, he always dealt with people fairly and in an honourable way and these were people who may not have had any love for Gardaí. He didn’t have a bad bone in his soul, he never wished ill will to anyone, he would talk to everyone. Pat never had any interest in promotion, he was happy to be Detective and be a team player, he was a good rock solid team player never moaning or griping”.
At his funeral mass on Monday, the symbols brought forward to celebrate his life included a family photograph, rosary beads, a football and a Clare jersey plus a picture of Pat and his beloved dog Charlie.
Pat is survived by his wife Nancy, children Suzanne, Brian, Pamela and Patrick, grandchildren Killian, Ryan, Katelyn, Khloe, Kayden and Cian, brother Michael, sister Breda, his sons-in-law Mike and Bill, daughter-in-law Audrey, nephews, nieces, extended family and friends.
