The late Eamon Coleman There was a huge sense of loss in the Oak Leaf County when the news began to spread that Eamon Coleman had gone to his eternal reward, his determined battle with cancer since 2005 at an end, the 'wee man' at peace. Glowing tributes have poured in for the iconic Derry man his friend for over forty years Gerry Donnelly telling me "he was a one off, the like of which we will not see again." That he was, an iconic, charismatic, irreverent, controversial, straight-talking giant of a man; small of stature but big of heart, a players' man and as former player Brian McGilligan said "a man of few words but one who spoke in layman's terms". He played in all grades of football with Derry and began his club career with is native ballymaguigan St Trea's GFC on the senior team at the age of 14 and won a SFC medal with is beloved Ballymaguigan in 1962. He also won a senior title with Ballinderry in 1981, and with Athlone the same year, and previously with them in 1978! He was on the Derry minor team which claimed the county's first-ever All-Ireland title in 1965. Three years later with virtually the same team he won an All-Ireland Under-21 championship medal, having won an Ulster Under 21 medal in 1967. He won his only Ulster senior championship in 1970, with Dr McKenna Cup medals in 1970 and 1971. However it was as a manager that the carved a unique niche for himself following retirement as a player. Coleman guided the county to their second All-Ireland minor title in 1983 and was the forerunner of a much greater achievement when the was at the helm ten years later, 1993 when Derry won the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time defeating Cork in the final following his appointment to the senior post in 1991. His appointment came at a time when Derry were struggling in Div 2 of the national league. But then two years and seven months later Derry had won the All-Ireland, national league and an Ulster title. In the All-Ireland final cork had been down to fourteen players late in the he first-half of that game and Coleman made sure his side made the best use of the extra man in the second half. He instilled self-belief into the players and they responded brilliantly. It was a remarkable transformation and Coleman who showed his coaching skills in the successful 1983 All-Ireland minor win, was again hugely influential in bringing about the success, Ulster success following in 1984. He took Derry to an Ulster Under 21 title in 1985. He led Derry to their first National League title for 45 years in 1992 and a year later, he saw his side crowned All-Ireland senior championships. His first term as Derry manager ended when he was sensationally told that "he was not being re-appointed" but returned in 1999, succeeding Brian Mullins, and in 2000 he guided the senior team to another national league title, beating Meath in a replayed final. Those who knew him in Derry say there was no one more passionate about Gaelic football and he enjoyed success as a player and manager. He quit as team manager with Derry in August 2002. Coleman became Cavan team manager in September 2003 in succession to former Meath star Mattie Kerrigan. Prior to his appointment his reputation which had preceded him was further strengthened by his success with Cavan club Gowna and helped them achieve a number of senior club successes. Hi start to his job as Cavan team manager in 2003 was interrupted when he had to serve a two month suspension imposed after a verbal altercation with referee Joe McQuillan from Kill during the 2003 Cavan Gaels v Gowna senior championship drawn semi-final. He was in charge of the Gowna team at the time. A hard taskmaster he didn't shy away from castigating against, officials, referees and members of the media. After Derry's defeat of Down in the Marshes in 1993 he told 'the meeja" as he called them "Youse boys know nothing." The fact that the brought success to Gowna only a short time after he became associated with eh club in the early nineties and was coach to the victorious championship winning teams of 1996, 97, 99 and 2002 was a tribute to his motivational skills as well as his coaching ability. He had taken a break in 2001 to look after the Derry team and left the club side in the capable hands of Dessie Brady. However Coleman returned the following year to lead the club to another title, leaving Gowna with five titles in six years. It was a big blow to Coleman when Gowna lost their crown in 2003 to old rivals Cavan Gaels. However those early successes marked him down as a coach of remarkable attributes of toughness in dealing with teams, skillful in his coaching methods where he formed successful management teams in Derry with Mickey Moran, Dinny McKeever, Harry gribben and Graig Mahoney, an Australian sports psychologist, an innovation in the GAA at the time in 1993. After a brief period with Longford, on taking charge of the Breffni senior and U-21 teams he set his sights on preparing the players for the 2004 provincial championship and national league and for the players together in October 2003, one month after taking office. Cavan's past history and tradition and the deeds of the teams of the thirties, forties, fifties and sixties were of little concern to him. Giving his first interview to the Anglo-Celt following his appointment , he said "Cavan's great history and tradition is what it is, merely history. Cavan have only achieved one Ulster senior title in 1969 and that was in 1997 under Donegal man Martin McHugh, who, he said, also brought the team up from Div 3 of the national league to Div 1. Other than that Cavan have not been a force and have been in the doldrums for a long time." He maintained in the same interview that it would be a long, tough road for Cavan football. Whether the material is there in the clubs to make an impact in Ulster in the next couple of years is a question t be answered. It is going to be a long road back before Cavan are able to challenge for the Ulster senior title." How true his prediction was. "At this stage (September 2003) it will be a big achievement to get past the first round. Cavan were beaten by Antrim last year (2002) and, meaning no disrespect to Antrim, when you got beaten by them you were in trouble." In the last part of the interview, speaking of his hopes for Cavan he said; "I would hope to achieve something over a three year period and begin to build a team". Alas. Eamon was unable to achieve success. He had been joined by Martin McElkennon as his assistant, a former member of the management team in Derry. Coleman had his many critics an his resignation from the Derry management team following a trip to the United States marked him as someone who invariably did what suited him and would not pander to any kind of officialdom if he felt he was being hard done by or even undermined. He was also proud of the achievements of his son Gary who played with Derry in various grades. Eamon was a builder by profession and was involved in the housing construction in the midlands for some years. He struck up many friendships in the small village of Gowna on the Cavan/Longford border and in particular the O'Reilly family. If you wanted to find out some information about the Cavan or Gowna teams and ring O'Reilly's at the most inappropriate time, 7.30pm on a Monday or Wednesday evening you would be informed by him "Don't talk to me now, I'm watching Coronation Street, ring me later". Thus were the simple pleasures of a man with football in his veins but who found time to take his mind off the pressures of team management. He was rarely out of the headlines when he was involved with Derry, CAvan or Longford but his success as a manager at county level cannot be denied. He was also successful as manager of the UUJ team, along with Charlie Sweeney, which won two Sigerson Cup University football titles. His illness prevented him from being involved in Cavan's preparations for the 2004 Ulster Championship and All-Ireland qualifying competitions and was replaced by his assistant Martin McElkennon but maintained his interest through radio and television and daily communication with members of the team management. He had made good progress in the interim and was in remission and seemed to have made a good recovery but then came the news of the deterioration in his health just after Christmas and his subsequent untimely death. Eamon Coleman's legacy is not just of bringing an All-Ireland senior title to Derry in 1993, but also laying the foundations for future teams with his successes at underage level in the Eighties. The wonderful tributes that have poured in from all over Ireland shows the esteem in which he has been held, not just in his beloved Ballymaguigan and Derry, but wherever Gaelic games are played. As Derry PRO Gerry Donnelly said "he has earned his peace". To his entire family circle the GAA fraternity sends heartfelt condolences. He will never be forgotten by those who came in contact with him down the years, a man small in stature, but big in personality, heart and generosity. May you rest in peace, Eamon. Courtesy of the Mid Ulster Observer 14 June 2007 Tweet

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