The Late James Cassidy It is ironic and yet in away, it is entirely true to the man's way of doing things, that, on the very night he was selected as a member of Fermanagh's Team of the Century', James Cassidy passed to his eternal reward. Had he lived to become aware of his membership of that unique fifteen, and would have been no sign of exuberance or of triumphalism. For James was not only a very modest and unassuming man, he was also a very quiet and very private man; he caused no fuss for others and wanted no fuss about himself. And he bore his final illness stoically and quietly. James Cassidy was always destined to be a great footballer. His father, Pat had been on outstanding member of a previous generation of Teemore footballers. Before his 16th birthday James first arrived on a Teemore senior team. Though not tall, James was very strong and wonderfully athletic. He had an outstanding ability to rise for the ball, to reach above taller players and to take the ball with one hand, controlling it as he landed well away from the other fielders. With proper training, he could probably have been a world class jumper, for he had an ability to 'spring' from the ground in a way that very few other footballers could ever manage. It was one of his greatest attributes. And, of course he was also fearless. He never shirked a tackle and he never complained when he himself was tackled, however hand that tackle might have been. But he was also considerate of others who did not have his skills or strength, and he was a great source of encouragement to young players, in his own quiet way. He played for Teemore from 1945 until 1973, when he retired at the age of 43, having given the best part of a life-time to the Shamrocks. He continued to serve the club in other roles until the day he died, when he was still Club President. In one way or another, he gave a total of 60 years, all bar a couple of months, of dedicated service to a cause in which he believed passionately and to the game and the club he loved. He represented Fermanagh at minor level in 1947 and 1948, and before the end of that latter year, he had graduated to the county's senior team, which he was to serve for a total of almost 14 seasons. At his peak, in the early and mid 1950s, he was widely regarded as one of the best players in Ulster and it was a souce of great annoyance to Gerry Magee and other Fermanagh officials of that time, that the system of selecting the Ulster team, which in those years was dominated by Cavan, militated seriously against Fermanagh players being given a chance to represent their province. James arrived on the Teemore team at a time when its fortunes had started to decline dramatically. The area was ruined by emigration and by 1950, the very survival of the club was in serious doubt. In fact, it might well have gone out of existence but for two things- the fact that James Cassidy, together with people like Jack Owens, Petie Cox, the McGovern family and, later Sean Martin, Sean Reilly and a few others, were determined to keep the club alive, and the fact that Tom Fee, in particular, continued to give them every encouragement to continue, even though the club was very weak and barely able to field 15 players on any given Sunday. Despite all entreaties to sign up for other clubs and counties, James remained loyal to both Fermanagh and Teemore, even though neither had much success in those early days. Then came 1959. Having lost to a Down team that included five or six of the history making 1960-61 All Ireland winning squad - Paddy Doherty, James McCartan, Leo Murphy and some others were on the 1958 junior team which defeated Fermanagh in Lisnaskea - James considered retiring from county football. He had played for them for the best part of 11 seasons by then. But fate and Tom Fee again decreed otherwise: James lined out for another season, moving to centre-half back when Mickey Brewster got injured in the first round and staying there for the rest of that memorable campaign. And, it was whilst playing in the Ulster Final, in Dungannon, that he made the most famous tackle in Fermanagh football history. James needed no coach to tell him that he had to win that ball, whatever the risk to his personal safety, or Fermanagh's chances of success were gone for another year and his own chance of an Ulster medal was probably gone for ever. The rest, as they say is history, Fermanagh went on to win the Ulster Junior title for the second time in less than 20 years, but, unlike his neighbour, Paddy Clarke, and the rest of the 1942 team. James got the chance to play in the All Ireland series, where they defeated Dublin, after a replay, then Kerry and then London to win the county's first All-Ireland title. James played well, indeed sometimes spectacularly, throughout that campaign. It is only right that the 1959 team should be revered in Fermanagh to this day, despite the heroics of their more high-profile successors in 2004. In their time, the 1959 team also made us all walk taller, prouder and with more confidence, even though the team struggled at the higher level over the following decades. As a result of that success, James decided to extend his tenure in the county jersey for another couple of years. Over the next seven or eight years, he remained the heart of a new, much younger Teemore team, with new names, some of whom would make their own mark on club and county teams for several years ahead - the Fitzpatricks, O'Reillys, McCaffreys, Quinns and others. We were still struggling to make the real break-through. Until, after a gap of nearly 30 years, Teemore got back to another senior final - this time for the 1967 League title, though the game was not played until March 1968 - and Teemore suffered another defeat. For young players, defeat is always hard to take. Losing to Devenish in that final was particularly hard to take. However, though we did not know it then, that was to be the start of a revival in the club's fortunes. In the dressing-room in Irvinestown afterwards, most of us were inconsolable. I well remember Brian McCaffrey and myself, two 'veterans' of 24, sitting in a corner, close to tears, believing that we would never have the same chance again. And I remember James coming over to us, leaning against the wall and saying: "I don't know why you lads are so upset. You'll win a championship some day. I never will - my last chance is gone." Shortly afterwards, in response to a health problem which had been annoying him for some time he retired. Just over a year later, as our minds were concentrated on the first round game against our perennial opponents, Ederney. Our team manager, the late Fr John Maguire, it was who announced that we could beat Ederney and possibly win the Championship, if we could find a goalkeeper. Thankfully, a relatively young Sean Quinn spoke up and said: I know who we should play in goals. James would not let us down, If we asked him. He has good, safe hands, go anticipation and he would organise our defence." A chorus of agreement, and Fr John and Sean were sent off, on the spot, to his house, to persuade James by then a married man with children. And of course, he agreed, with a typical Cassidy response" "If you think I can help, I'll give it a try, but I won't have time for much training". To say that James was magnificent in that 1969 final would be an understatement. Our 16th championship win was crafted and delivered by out goalkeeper. Without him, we would never have got through the first round and we would have been buried in the final. It was some achievement for a man heading for his 40th birthday - a man who just over a year earlier had despaired of ever winning a Fermanagh Senior Championship medal and the man who, more than anyone else, had kept the club alive through the dark years of the fifties. He was still there in 1971, when we won the 'double' and he stayed on for almost another two years. James totally enjoyed playing football - I have never met anyone who got more pleasure out of simply catching and kicking a ball. His Presidency of the Shamrocks was as far as we could go in repaying him, while he place on the "Team of the Century' is his county's recognition of his contribution to their cause. But, our loss is minute in comparison with the loss to his family and immediate friends. To Brigid, his wife, to his sons, T.P., Jim and Aidan, to his daughters, Pauline and Vanessa, to his sister and to his extended family, we extend our deepest sympathy. They now know just how great a man James was and how much the rest of us appreciated him. For those of us, who knew him best through sport, we can truly say, as they say in Irish: Ni bheidh a leitheid aris ann - we will not see his like again. May his soul rest in peace among the Gaels who preceded him, including his father and two Clarkes, Tommy (T.P.) and Paddy, as well as the others who share his membership of the official " Team of the Century'. Go ndeana Dia trocaire ar a anam uasal. Courtesy of the Fermanagh Herald 10th August 2005 Tweet

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