Mallon, Thomas
October 08, 2013
The Killeavy club is much the poorer this week with the death of Thomas Mallon whose influence on generations of young Killeavy men could never be understated. He served one club with great distinction and for over fifty years as player, coach, administrator, willing worker and guide.
In recent years, Tom had, with wife Mary, been responsible for the weekly Killeavy whist which has been so successful that it had to move from the 'hut' in Meigh to the larger Youth Club premises. He also performed a much needed but very unheralded role as a collector for the weekly club lottery.
His legacy however is based in coaching. The Killeavy club is recognised throughout Armagh and further afield for the strength and success of its underage teams. This strength and the underpinning structures are a direct legacy of the work of Tom Mallon.
It is hard to believe now when we look at a club with almost 400 juvenile members that only 40 years ago there was no such thing as underage club football. All youth football was then controlled by the schools including the Abbey CBS who Tom captained to MacRory Cup success in 1959. When clubs were given permission to organise at underage level, it was Tom Mallon who led the charge. Our first underage title came when he managed our U16s to the county championship in 1974 and for almost thirty years he could be found most nights of the week coaching and managing generations of young Killeavy footballers. Tom liked winning but participating and playing the game in the 'right' way were all important. In many ways, Tom's coaching was years ahead of its time as the methods he espoused have become the base for today's Go Games model of coaching.
No better tribute could be paid to the memory of Tom Mallon than that of Steven McDonnell who is on record as saying that Tom was the greatest influence on his career and who invited him to be his special guest when picking up his Player of the Year trophy in 2003. He might not have made us all into Steven McDonnell's but he treated us all with the same enthusiasm, care and respect.
That mutual respect was recently demonstrated when Tom and Mary organised a reunion of the u16 championship winning team from 1974. When Tom called, from all across the country they came - and a most enjoyable night of memories and craic was had by all.
We extend our heartfelt sympathies to Tom's wife Mary, son Damien, daughter Clara and the wider circle of family and his many friends. Go ndeanan Dia trocaire ar an anam
- Armagh Examiner, 8th October 2013
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