Death of Lally McCormack of Dunshaughlin
Dunshaughlin has lost one of its best known characters with the passing of Lally McCormack, following a long illness.
A stalwart of Dunshaughlin GFC, the club has paid tribute to his years of service to the club and the community.
"His passing is a huge loss to his family and friends, especially as it follows so soon after the death of his beloved wife Mary," it says.
Their tribute continues:
"Lally was the life and soul of any gathering he joined; you were guaranteed a raft of stories, interspersed with laughter once he arrived. He was junior manager and selector, steward and PRO, committee man and fundraiser, and the go-to-man when something needed doing. He gloried in the role of junior selector, especially the third team. From the late 1990s through the first decade of the new century he took charge of numerous Junior C championship teams as well as the third league team with patience, perseverance and persistence.
"His greatest ally in the pre-mobile days was the landline in the old clubhouse where he spent hours talking to players, and longer to mothers, in an effort to get a team on the field. He had a list as long as the street, adding half a dozen youngsters annually to compensate for the older lads who were hanging up the boots. But none hung them up without a fight, for when Lally asked for a turn few had the heart to refuse.
He acted as umpire to Jim Smith for many years, travelling the county and country to games, from the junior league to county finals, and always there was banter, wit and fun.
As a steward you could be sure the traffic wouldn’t flow smoothly, for Lally was sure to engage in conversation and chat with every arrival. He acted as PRO for the club in the glory days of the late 1990s and early 2000s where his affable, efficient manner was appreciated by the press and supporters alike and he was involved in the establishment of the Club Lotto, an initiative that continues to this day. Ironic then, that this Monday the McCormack family picked the four numbers to win the Lotto jackpot.
"He had a life beyond the GAA in the Drama Group, the Choral Society, and especially the Panto Group, where for a quarter of a century he found an ideal forum for his wit, humour and fun, as he acted as Chairman and stage manager. In recent years he helped out with the Club’s Social Initiative where older members of the club travel to places of interest; last November he joined the group on a trip to Derry.
His son David was a regular on Dunshaughlin teams for many years and has coached at under age in recent times while David’s wife Lyndsey served the club as Juvenile Secretary.
"To David and Lyndsey his daughters Aislinn, Grace and Sabina and their partners Brian, James and Stephen and his grandchildren and friends, the club sends its sincere sympathy."
Lally was well known in every farmyard the length and breadth of the county and beyond as an AI man.
William (Lally) McCormack, Parsonstown, Batterstown, died peacefully on Tuesday at St Francis' Hospice, Blanchardstown. Beloved husband of the late Mary, who died in September 2017, and father of Aíslinn, David, Grace and Sabina, Lally will be sadly missed by his family, sisters Jean (Keogh) and Rose (Birmingham) and brother Damian, sons-in-law Brian, James and Stephen, daughter-in-law Lynsey, grandchildren Cathal, Lennán, Fionn, Aaron, Rían, Adam, Dylan, Alex, Darcy J and Alannah, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
Reposing at his home from 3pm on Thursday. Funeral Mass on Friday at 2pm in the Church of the Assumption, Batterstown followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery. House private on Friday. Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu to Meath Palliative Care or St. Francis' Hospice.