The passing of a natural leader, Michael Oliver Two years ago in the Twin Towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar, the 25th Anniversary of the Gleann Colm Cille county final victors enabled all the members of the team to overcome Gaoth Dobhair to share the fabled stories and memories of the 1978 triumph. Every one of the victorious squad was present. Now only there talisman has departed. The first man ever from that particular club to lift the Dr. Maguire Cup was Michael Oliver, who captained that famous team. He passed away after a short illness. As vice-chairman Paddy Beag Gillespie noted at the graveyard on Monday afternoon at Carrick, "Just as he did on the field, Michael shall lead us all again, this time in heaven." Michael Oliver and his contemporaries of the late seventies broke the mould in Donegal GAA terms. It was unfashionable, perhaps inconceivable, for a team like theirs to pick up the silverware in late September or early October. The south-west of the county had been starved of success and sides like Glen, Ardara and Killybegs had not been serious contenders for some time. 1978 changed all that. A dozen years later, Michael Oliver and more or less a newer generation of team-mates repeated the success and although a defender by trade, the effervescent character proved coolness personified to score a late assurance point against Killybegs on the day to seek the second coming of Dr. Maguire. These successes punctuate an involvement with the club that stretched over five decades. From the 1965 under-14 coup right through to the current chair. Roles included player and manager, selector and mentor, trainer and administrator. For both club and county. So involved was he that recently his wife Carol Ann - whom he had just celebrated his silver wedding anniversary with in June - asked her husband to take more of a back seat in the wake of his sickness - a request he gave his word to adhere to. A few hours after the Annual General Meeting, Carol Ann obtained information as to who had been elected Chairperson. A certain Mr. Michael Oliver McIntyre. Such was his devotion. In today's scattered society infiltrated with divided loyalties, the likes of Michael are difficult to come across. His adoration was single-minded, but shared to include more than football. The other three f's were also close to the heart. Family, fishing and friends. The farm in Malinbeg on which he provided a livelihood for himself, his wife and father, his two sons and two daughters ran straight to the sea and strand. Lobster and crab pots were to be seen dotting the picturesque horizon on a summer's evening looking out at Rathlin O'Beirne Island. Either that or the simpler fishing rod methodology. A member of the St. Eunan's College McLarnon Cup winners in the late sixties, it borders on problematic to try and fathom just how much the man actually did for football. Contributions spread across the generations and was representative on the county green and gold working with Anthony Molloy's Ulster minor champions in 1996; stints with U-21 management; Brian McEniff, Declan Bonner and Mickey Mora in the seniors. An incumbent Brain McIver was on the phone within days of his appointment being ratified. Little was ever left to chance and half measures were not a part of the equation. Speeches were not ceremonial but examples were to be heeded. The legacy of Michael Oliver and the foundations he laid will live on. Alan Foley Courtesy of Donegal Democrat 22 December 2005 Tweet

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