Many tributes have been paid following the death of well known Ballinasloe man Mattie Ganly , who passed away earlier this week. He was 84.

The retired national school teacher was well known in GAA and political circles having served as a Sinn Fein councillor on Ballinasloe Town Council for a brief period.

Mattie passed away on Tuesday morning following a brief illness but it was a proud moment for him to witness Ballinasloe winning the All-Ireland junior club title recently and was in Croke Park to witness the historic occasion.

He was steeped in GAA and it was no surprise as his father Paddy Ganly was a member of that historic Galway football team that won the All-Ireland title for the very first time in 1925. Indeed, Mattie brought his father's All-Ireland winning medal to Croke Park for the occasion and also attended the recent civic reception hosted by Ballinasloe Town Council for the winning team and mentors.

Of course Mattie also played football and was a member of the Ballinasloe senior football that lost to Tuam Stars in the 1960 county senior football final. He played for Ballinasloe for more than a decade and then managed several underage teams before becoming Chairman of the club for a number of years as well as being a past President.

Former club Chairman, Sean Tully said that Mattie was an effective player at full forward. "He was tall and a ranging player who just loved the competitive element of football," he said. Mattie Ganly lived at Dunio Hill in Ballinasloe, just beside the monument there, and was a teacher at St. Grellan's Boy's National School, having also taught in both Sligo and Roscommon. He retired from teaching in 1994.

He was heartbroken following the death of his wife Sheila a couple of years ago as they were a devoted couple. Sheila was from Omeath in County Louth. They have four children, Ciaran in Boston, Conor in Portlaoise, Grellan in Ballinasloe and Sinead in Dublin who have been overwhelmed by the sympathy that has been extended to them for their loss.

Cllr. Dermot Connolly said that Mattie was an exceptional teacher, who taught sixth class pupils and prepared them well for secondary school. "When you came out of Mattie's class and went into secondary school, you almost felt that you had a bit of an advantage over other students - that is how well he prepared us in sixth class. "He had a love of the Irish language and was a true republican but aside from that he gave his time outside class to coach young lads in the various arts of football, which he loved. He not alone give us a great education but he also gave us a life education.

"He loved visiting people and even up to recently, when his health was not great, he would look in on as many as he could. That was the sort of person he was," Cllr. Connolly added. Mattie was co-opted to Ballinasloe Town Council when Jason Devlin vacated the seat. He was a member of the town board for a year and a half and was succeeded by Cllr. Micheal Breathnach.

Mattie had a huge interest in the Aintree Grand National and on the day before he died he placed a bet on Carlingford Lough in memory of his beloved wife Sheila who hailed from County Louth.

Courtesy of The Connacht Tribune Tweet

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