Cotter, Liam
July 14, 2011Generous tributes are being paid this week to Mr Cotter (69) who died at Kerry General Hospital on Monday evening. A dialysis patient, he had been ill since last September. He was a former employee of the Lee Strand company.
The removal of his remains will take place from McElligott's Funeral Home, Tralee, between 4pm and 7pm this Thursday. The Requiem Mass for Mr Cotter will be celebrated at 12 noon on Friday at the Church of the Purification, Churchill.
County Board chairman Jerome Conway paid tribute to the former vice-chairman for his service to the GAA and singled out loyalty as one of his strongest personal qualities.
"I found him a very loyal person," Mr Conway said. "He was able to fight his corner but he was always loyal. He was a true GAA person. What you saw was what you got. There were no corners to him.
"He had a powerful interest in his club and in the nationalist situation in the North of Ireland," he said. "He often gave orations defending their position in the North. In his capacity as vice-chairman, he was very involved in the promotion of hurling.
"During that time, Kerry beat Waterford in the first round of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship," he said. "That was historic at that time."
North Kerry TD Martin Ferris said that Mr Cotter had been a lifelong friend and a political activist.
"He was a great friend to my family and myself when I was in prison," Deputy Ferris said. "Our thoughts are with his wife, Theresa, and his daughter, Sinead."
Mr Cotter had been instrumental in the reformation of Churchill GAA club in 1972, he trained the team that won the Novice County Championship. He was vice-chairman at the time of his death.
"He will be a major loss to the GAA," club chairman Mike Moriarty said. "He worked relentlessly for the organisation."
Mr Cotter is pre-deceased by his daughter, Siobhan, who died suddenly in 2005.
Courtesy of Kerry's Eye, 14th July 2011 Tweet
