Football

Danny Murphy has left a 'great legacy' for Ulster - incoming secretary Brian McAvoy

Tributes have poured in for Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy after his passing on Wednesday
Tributes have poured in for Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy after his passing on Wednesday Tributes have poured in for Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy after his passing on Wednesday

INCOMING Ulster Council secretary Brian McAvoy has paid tribute to the “great legacy” left by his predecessor Danny Murphy, who passed away on Wednesday.

A fellow clubman at St Mary’s, Burren in county Down, the pair were great friends and worked side by side during the county’s momentous 1991 All-Ireland success when Murphy was county chairman, with McAvoy county secretary.

They were due to work together again as Murphy was expected to work alongside his successor until February after McAvoy officially began his new role at the start of this week.

Sadly, that won’t be the case, but McAvoy is keen to follow in his mentor’s footsteps: “Och, of course, Danny would’ve been a great guide. His expertise, his wisdom, his all round knowledge would have been a wonderful asset,” he said.

“I’ve known Danny since I was knee high, we’d actually be distant cousins, so I’ve known him since I was very young. I remember when he was playing with Burren and he would still talk about the one that got away - the 1977 county final defeat to Bryansford.

“We were close friends and Danny has taught me a lot through the years. I can only try to do as good a job as he did, which will be very hard. Danny has left a great legacy.

“He has left us in good hands, bringing Ulster GAA from more or less running fixtures to where we are today - a whole business dealing with community and games development, issues around welfare, health and wellbeing and everything else. You couldn’t help but admire Danny, the enthusiasm he had. Above all, he was a GAA man and a gentleman.”

So many of the tributes paid to Danny Murphy have highlighted his role as a visionary and an innovator, somebody who led from the front.

And through the years McAvoy has seen at first hand the huge impact his friend has made: “Danny broke down a lot of barriers, built up relationships with government and statutory bodies that weren’t in existence before, north and south of the border," he added.

“He also formed key relationships with other sporting bodies too, like the Irish Football Association and Ulster Rugby. Danny played a key role in the whole new raft of county grounds throughout the province too - we’re still waiting on one big one [Casement Park] and it’s a shame he wasn’t there to see it through to fruition.”

Ulster Council president Michael Hasson was also a close personal friend of Danny Murphy, and said his loss would be felt far and wide.

“Not alone is Danny a loss to his family, his club and his community but society in general has lost a great leader, someone who led the way for Ulster Gaels for the last 35 years,” said the Rasharkin man.

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ULSTER’S inter-provincial clashes with Munster have been moved to Sunday due to the funeral of Danny Murphy on Saturday.

The football semi-final, originally slated for Saturday afternoon, will instead take place in Parnell Park, Dublin on Sunday at 2pm, while the Ulster v Munster hurling showdown takes place in Thurles on Sunday at 1.45pm.

The Leinster v Connacht fixtures will still take place on Saturday, with the hurling in MacDonagh Park, Nenagh at 2.45pm and the football in Parnell Park at 6pm.

The GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee will meet on Sunday evening to determine the dates and times for the interprovincial finals, which had been scheduled for Sunday.

Danny Murphy’s funeral will take place at noon on Saturday at St Mary’s Church, Burren