It was with immense shock and sadness that the family and friends of Edmund (Ned) McElligott learned of his untimely death on the morning of Thursday 30th June.

Ned was born on 26th December 1939 to Thomas and Ellen (nee Houlihan), Ballinagare, Lixnaw. He was the second youngest in a family of six, two boys and four girls. He was only nine years old when his mother died in 1949. He attended the local national school and afterwards, like so many of his generation, did not pursue further education but confirmed to work on the family farm.

Ned always had a great love of dancing and it was at a dance in Abbeydorney that he met his wife-to-be, Nora Slattery, from Corrovough. After their marriage in 1965, they moved to Abbeydorney which was to be their home for the next forty-six years.
In Abbeydorney Ned soon found himself behind the bar of the establishment that once belonged to that well known north Kerry sportsman and publican, Tom Harty. Tom had been an officer of the local hurling club, coursing club and ploughing society and with Ned behind the counter, the interest in these traditional past times continued 'Ned's' soon became home to all things sport - hurling, football, greyhounds, ploughing, golf and cards.

It was not long before the local hurling club came calling and Ned threw his lot in with the black and amber. He also hoped for a bit more luck than he had with Lixnaw for who he had been on the losing County Hurling finals teams in 1960, '64 and '66, the latter by a point to Ballyduff.

However, that losing sequence was continued when Abbeydorney lost to Kilmoyley in 1971 but this did not deter him. He persevered and finally, playing in his fifth County Final rewarded with that elusive winner's medal on Sunday 13th October, 1974 when O'Dorney defeated Austin Stack's. Ned at cornerback played his own inimitable, uncompromising style of hurling, helping in no small way to bridge a sixty-one year championship wait for the club.

Indeed a friendship was born that day on the field of play with the Rock's Niall Sheehy - a friendship that endured to the very end. Ned retired from the hurling scene shortly after that but another hurling award came his way when on the 5th February this year the Abbeydorney club presented him with the Hall of Fame award. He was so proud and honoured to receive this that it went on permanent display behind the bar counter.

Ned had a life-long interest in greyhounds and won many stakes, both in coursing and the track. His first success was in the Working Members Stake in Abbeydorney in 1980 with Montana Tiger. He had his first trial stake winner in 1984 with the Brian Divilly bred Black Sandal at Listowel. Probably his proudest moment with the longtails was in 1987 when he brought off a double at Ballybeggan Park winning the Dog Trial Stake with Millers Page and the Bailey Cup with Pipers Black, both sons of Black Sandal.

On the track front his last runners Garfiney Beauty and Sandal's Oz were successful with Garfiney Beauty winning the Oyster Tavern Sweepstake at Tralee last summer in 28.42, the second fastest time of 2010. Ned also enjoyed many successful years with his late cousins, Ronnie and Joe using the Cisco prefix. Indeed it was while in the company of his greyhounds on that Thursday morning that Ned spent his final moments.

Another integral part of his life was the game of cards which he played several nights a week. His fellow card players were like another family to him and have since organised a Mass in his memory in the card lounge. Afterwards they played a game in his honour. Ned was the leader of the pack and the very odd night he would be away, the game was never the same. He brought fun and laughter to the table with his jokes and stories of years past. His vocabulary of old words and sayings was second to none. A shrewd 41 and poker player, Ned was unique.

He could always be relied on to lend a helping hand to his neighbours and friends, this he did willingly and in his own quiet, no-fuss kind of way. Ned will be remembered for his deep faith, his hard work ethic, his sense of humour, his story telling and, of course, his hearty laugh.

It is a testament to the esteem in which he was held that so many card players from Tralee and from the villages of north Kerry, members of both Abbeydorney Hurling Club and Lixnaw Coursing Club and his many friends turned out to form a guard of honour at the removal from his home to St Bernard's Church and also as he made his way to his final resting place in Kyrie Eleison Abbey, his coffin draped with both the black and amber of Abbeydorney and the green and gold of his native Lisnaw.
Ned's death has left a deep void in the life of his family and he is very deeply missed by his wife Nora and children, Elaine, Julie, TJ, Bernard, Paul and Sinead, by his brother Pat Joe (Lixnaw) and sisters Breda (Trim), Norma (Lixnaw), Anna Marie (Adare) and Rose (San Francisco)

Courtesy of Kerry's Eye 1st September 2011 Tweet

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