On Thursday September 26th 2013 the entire community of Ballymahon was beset with a great tragedy with the sudden and untimely passing of one of our best loved sons in the person of Albert Fahy. After their initial refusal to believe that such a young man could be taken from us we all had to face the grim reality that Albert would be with us no more. The apple of his mother's eye and a young man much loved by all who had the pleasure of knowing him, Albert's passing leaves us all immeasurable poorer. A member of a long established and much respected local family, Albert will be most sorely missed by his heartbroken parents Brigid and Joe, brothers Desmond, Pat, Derek, Mark and Joey, sister Sonya and his entire extended family. Albert always had that beaming smile, that friendly greeting, that reassuring word and always conveyed the impression that all was well with the world. Albert was a talented footballer in both the Gaelic Athletic and soccer codes and was a former team player with both Ballymahon and Forgney GAA clubs and of course a star player with the legendary 'Red Devils' soccer club, the most successful such club in Ballymahon's history. A lover of the environment and nature, many were the leisurely hours Albert spent fishing in the local River Inny, just a stones throw from his family's front door. The massive crowds that called to his family home in the immediate aftermath of his sad demise, and the capacity attendance at his funeral in St. Matthew's Church beer ample testimony to the regard in which Albert was held by the shocked local community. It was very appropriate that Paddy Kavanagh's classic 'Raglan Road' should be sung with such feeling at his graveside. His favourite lines from this Kavanagh masterpiece were:
"On a quiet street where old ghosts meet I see her walking now
Away from me so hurriedly my reason must allow
That I had loved not as i should a creature made of clay
When the angel woos the clay he'd lose his wings at the dawn of day."
Albert didn't lose his wings at the dawn of day; he merely traded them in for a new pair.
The chairman, executive, players, members and supporters of Ballymahon GAA extend the most heartfelt sympathy of the family of the GAA to the Fahy family on our mutual great loss. Go bhfeadfadh Dia trocaire or a ainm.

Longford Leader, 11th October 2013 Tweet

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