Cormac McGill has left a lasting mark on our society Cormac McGill was a man who was widely known and respected throughout Co. Leitrim and further afield. It is far to say he left his mark on Leitrim. The sheer scale of work Cormac carried out on a voluntary basis for the betterment of his community and for cultural and sporting enhancement was a true measure of the man. Cormac, who passed away in Sligo General Hospital at he age of 73, will be fondly remembered by all who came to know him. A native of Convoy in Donegal, he came to the Shannonside village of Dromod over 35 years ago and immersed himself in everything that was going on in the village and parish. He initially taught in Drumlish and then Bornacoola National School where hundreds of pupils over the years were taught about all aspects of Irish culture and music. He fostered in them a great love of our traditional music and pastimes. Cormac had a great devotion to Irish culture, sport and music and was deeply involved in the GAA through the Bornacoola Club and in particular with his involvement in the Scor competition, a personal favourite of his. As a keen writer Cormac reported on league and championship matches in Leitrim for year for both Leitrim Observer and Longford Leader and also wrote a weekly column 'The Follower' for the Donegal Democrat. All his articles were widely read as his views took in not just local news but also the wider spectrum of national and international events. Dromod was his home for the best part of forty years and his long time friend who lived beside him on the Quay Road, T.P. Cox, recalls how Cormac was passionate about everything that went on in the village. Everything from infrastructure, development, housing and traffic was focussed on by Cormac and anything positive that could be achieved for Dromod was aired in his weekly notes column. "He really got stuck in about the lack of a proper sewerage scheme in the village and never let up until it was done," T.P. recalls. Another issue he regularly highlighted was the speeding trucks an cars going through the village and these drivers felt the full burnt of his pen. Proud of Dromod's record as the tidiest town in the country for over 25 years, T.P. remembers Cormac would keep a close eye on developments in the village to ensure that they were of the proper type and would not downgrade the village in any way and would only enhance their marks in the competition. Cormac, as a teacher, loved young people and loved to see them enjoying themselves. Special occasions, birthday parties and homecomings were all given a mention in his notes and T.P. says Cormac loved to come down to the pub and meet with people and chat and hear all that was going on locally. As a key member of Dromod Development association and the Tidy Towns, Cormac always strived for the highest possible marks in the national competition and Dromod came agonisingly close on a number of occasions to winning regional and overall honours. "Cormac missed out on the big one, but it probably will happen," says T.P. "Last year we had the same amount of marks as the winner of the previous year, he wouldn't have liked that, to see the goalposts moving," says T.P. Another close acquaintance of Cormac's particularly in the field of Scor, was Sean O Suilleachain who recounts Cormac's passion for Scor and everything it stands for. Sean, who is PRO of Scor in Leitrim, remembers Cormac as firstly being a participant in Scor in the ballad group competition. The piano accordion was his instrument but he also played and taught the tin whistle teaching scores of children in the many schools he visited. Cormac was a republican, a gaelgoir and a GAA man to his roots and he embraced all things traditional, none more so than his beloved Scor. "For the last ten or twelve years he was the mainstay of Scor in Leitrim," says Sean. He reveals that only last Saturday, the day before he died, Cormac had rang Maura Mulvey, Secretary of Scor Liatroma, in relation to some aspect of Scor. Cormac was Cultural Officer of the GAA County Board and Chairman of Leitrim scor, and used this office to promote Scor and the Irish language at every opportunity. According to Sean, one of Cormac biggest achievements came in 2000 when he organised that every one of the 24 clubs in Leitrim participated in Scor. This was a massive achievement and had never been done before in Leitrim or any other county for that matter. Cormac was appointed to the national Coiste Scor by GAA President Sean Kelly and Chairman of Scor, Jarlath Burns, and this was a huge honour that Cormac proudly accepted. Cormac would also edit the programmes for the Scor County Finals and everything would be in Irish. He also used Irish liberally in his articles in match programmes. Sean remembers when Cormac did a little weekly column in his notes in the Observer as Gaeilge and them explained the words in English. "People would read Cormac McGill's and Sean Callaghan's (Aughawillian) notes for the way they were written," says Sean. "Cormac was also a great Latin scholar and would write bits in Latin in his notes," recalls Sean. "He was a real learned type of man and had a good grasp of the English language in a scholarly way," says Sean. Sean has interviewed Cormac on video to capture his unique life story. The interview was conducted mostly in Irish, a language Cormac loved and which he learned while spending time with his uncles in Teli in the Donegal Gaeltacht. Local county councillor for the Bornacoola area, Sean McGowan admits he was greatly saddened when he learned of Cormac's death after a long illness that he bore with great courage and dignity. "Cormac was a great community worker who was Secretary of Dromod Development Association for a long number of years. "He loved Dromod with a passion and looked forward to the day when the village would win the national Tidy Towns award," says Sean. He recalls Cormac taking up journalism when he retired from teaching and says his weekly notes made the local papers most interesting for the people of Dromod and Leitrim. "His natural flare for writing made the Dromod notes one of the most popular sections in the papers. "He was also a great GAA man and was the driving force behind Scor in Leitrim for a long number of years. "Indeed Leitrim's success at Scor at national level can be attributed in no small way to Cormac's tireless efforts," says Sean. "The people of Dromod an Leitrim have lost a true, loyal friend," says Sean who offered his sincere sympathy to Cormac's wife Mary, his children Nessa, Fergal and Ailbhe, and his extended family. Another friend who remembers Cormac fondly is Cllr Enda Stenson who had known Cormac through their mutual work in the GAA. "I have known Cormac and his family for a long number of years." Enda says. He said people from Eslin would remember Cormac with great fondness for all the years he came to Eslin and taught the children to play the tin whistle. Enda said that every St Patrick's Day, Easter and Christmas Cormac was in Eslin church playing tradition music with all the children sitting around him. He had a particular love of children. In other aspects, Enda says "Cormac had strong political views and always made them known to me as Independent councillor, but he accepted other people's views." Enda says that for all the years Cormac spent in Leitrim, he was a Donegal man through and through. "When Donegal won the All-Ireland in 1992 it was the highlight of his life to be photographed in Dromod Station with the Sam Maguire," says Enda. In relation to Scor, Enda says Cormac's work was "legendary." He said that if there was Scor in Aughavas, Killarney or Athlone, it didn't matter where, Cormac would be there and his commitment saw him being rewarded with his elevation to the national Scor committee. Enda said that Cormac's Dromod notes were among the first things people would read in the Observer each week. "I remember in 1994 in the US, Leitrim people over there talking about the Dromod notes, they loved Cormac McGill even though they didn't know him of had never met him," says Enda. Cormac will be sadly missed by all friends and colleagues. We here in the Observer have lost a great correspondent and friend to us all in the newsroom, a man who had the best interests of his community at heart and always did his best for Dromod, Bornacoola and Leitrim. "People like Cormac don't come round too often," Enda Stenson says, and he's right, they don't. Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam dilis. Courtesy of The Leitrim Observer 28 October 2005 Tweet

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