Kerr, Colman
August 16, 2012Last weekend was a sombre one in our part of the world. On a glorious sun-dappled Thursday evening word began to spread that Colman Kerr was gone.
It was too incredible to believe. A big man, in height and persona, he was dead at 48. It was a stunning and unwanted surprise. He passed away sitting on his couch in his front room, just before he set off to train the Aodh Ruadh u-16 girls. There was nothing the medics could do.
His daughter Cliodhna plays with the u-16s and, like the rest of the team, she waited for her father to arrive for the session, but he never did. The gentle giant was being sped to his reward.
Colman exemplified a lot of the very best aspects of the GAA. He's the kind of man who would never have been on the GPA's radar, but without him and his like the Association would simply fall apart.
Originally from Portsalon in the Fanad peninsula work took Colman to Ballyshannon. Never the hurler on the ditch, Colman committed himself to the town with a characteristic dedication. His love of sports, nurtured in Fanad, bloomed by the Erne.
He played reserve and third team football for Aodh Ruadh, winning championship and league titles. Hardy and robust, he had startling skill for a big man. Gifted with a great fetch and an eye for the dixie he was too much to handle for many a ruffled defence.
He was under no illusions about his talents either. He had a big voice to match his big personality and often during a match he could be seen standing with the arms spread wide apart roaring at his defence to, "Let the ball in," when he knew he had the roasting of his man.
My first experiences of meeting him were with the third team. A big bear of a man, he was an imposing presence and his gruff voice didn't suggest a man given to niceties. But that wasn't Colman at all. He was as open and warm-hearted a man as ever walked. Indeed it was one of the distinctive things about Colman that any new face that came about the club was immediately taken under the wing and firmly embraced into the fold.
A natural leader it wasn't long before he was the other side of the chalk for Aodh Ruadh, taking underage teams. The u-10s, 12s and 14s, of ten featuring his son, Oisin, benefited from his guidance. More recently the ladies were the focus of his coaching efforts, especially the under 16 girls.
Colman could always be relied on to put a shoulder to wheel when the club needed help. He seldom missed the Thursday quiz in Owen Roe's, especially when Aodh Ruadh were the beneficiary. How many hours must he have put in at the Aodh Ruadh lotto table in the shopping centre of a Saturday? The Bank Holiday Monday after Donegal's victory of Kerry saw Colman on the bridge in Ballyshannon with a bucket collecting for the senior Donegal Ladies. Working for the greater good to the very end.
As the news of his tragic passing spread across the area, it was greeted with disbelief and shock. Perhaps, it will only be in the coming months when we reach out for that helping hand that Colman would have so willingly offered, only to realise that it is no longer there, that the loss will finally hit home. We will all be remembering Colman in quiet moments for a long time to come. And there will be tribute in that.
Close to 1,000 attended his funeral mass, a mark of the profound and positive impact Colman made on so many lives. His time with us enriched us all and we will all be the poorer for his passing at a time when he had so much yet to give.
The GAA brought Colman Kerr into my life and I think myself not a little blessed to have known him. His legacy won't live on in silverware or bricks and mortar, but in the hearts and souls of those he met and cheered with his enthusiasm, wit, love, laughter and good-natured pugnacity.
He fought the good fight, he finished the race, he kept the faith.
Courtesy of the Gaelic Life, August 16th, 2012. Tweet
