The late Mickey Noone The sudden death of Mickey Noone, Mount St and Elm Park, Claremorris evoked sorrow and sadness across the community; Mickey was a hugely talented and gifted individual who drew respect, and admiration from everyone lucky enough to have known him. As a sports he excelled in many sports; Gaelic Football Hurling, Boxing, Golf and Tennis were some of the more obvious that come to mind. In Gaelic football he was regarded as a prodigy even before he attended secondary school. He attended St Colman's College before going on to St Jarlath's College in Tuam. He was a member of the first St Colman's College team to play at Junior 'A' level when they defeated Summerhill College, Sligo in the Junior Championship of 1946. That was an immensely talented team, which included George Fair, Edmund Cleary (father of John and Nodlaig of Cork fame), Hubie Burke, Peter Tierney, Tom Burke and Mickey at left corner forward. Mickey had the unique distinction of being a member of the Mayo Minor Football panel for four years; 1948, 49, 50 & 51. The 1950 team was regarded as probably one of the best teams that never won the All-Ireland. That particular team included; Paraic Gannon, Foxford, Joe Donoghue, Killala, John Nallen and Seamus O'Donnell (who won an All Ireland Senior Title in 1957 with Louth and afterwards realised that he and Mickey Noone were second cousins). Mayo had to play the All-Ireland semi final in Wexford against the home county which had a major bearing on the outcome, that arose because of Wexford having one of their officials in a major decision-making position at the highest level. When Mickey left secondary school he moved to Swinford to learn his trade as a butcher, he joined the McNicholas family who were cousins of his mother's and decided to play football with the Swinford club. Ironically, he made a huge contribution to Swinford, winning the County minor title at the expense of Claremorris in 1951 after a replay. Afterwards he joined the Cunniffe Meat Company in Ballaghadereen before deciding to open his own butcher shop in Mount Street. He played for Claremorris with distinction from 1953 to 1962 winning a County Junior Title in 1960 and a Senior title in 1961. He played his last game with Claremorris in the County final of 1962 at Ballinrobe, a game in which Castlebar Mitchels narrowly defeated Claremorris. It's generally agreed that his best ever display was in a County Senior semi final for South Mayo in 1958, a game won by a fine Ballinaside with Willie Casey on Board. He gave a lot of credit to the later Fr Vinnie O'Brien who taught him to rudiments of corner forward play in the Station field behind the Noone household. Mickey Noone could have gone on much longer but like other facets of his life he felt once he had achieved a certain goal he didn't see any reason to pursue it further. He played for the Mayo senior team several times with distinction and probably his best display was in a Corn an Casca game against Dublin in Croke Park when he scored 1-4 on no less an opponent than Danno Mahony of Toyota fame. Just two years ago the Claremorris Club honoured Mickey with the coveted 'Hall of Fame Award' something he cherished dearly and appreciated. He loved the game of hurling and often travelled to Munster Championship games with members of the French family who were close friends of his, he also played the game to an acceptable level having picked up the skills from chefs and other workers with Iarnrod Eireann who travelled to Claremorris each Sunday on 'Knock Specials' from 1941/2 and who played in the Station field while awaiting the buses to return in the evening. Mickey was an accomplished boxer that learned the skills from the famous 'Boy' Murphy who was an Irish international and a member of An Garda Siochana based in Claremorris. He helped to reform the Boxing Club in 1963 with the help of Colm Flynn (later to become a member of Ger Loughane's backroom team in Clare) and others and remained a major follower of the sport until his untimely passing. He looked forward to the boxing on Sky Sports every Friday night and was regarded as an expert on the sport. Outside of Gaelic football he played golf to a lowest handicap of 5 and won the Captain's Prize (Pat Noone) in 1970 with his nephew Pat Killeen as his caddy then aged 10. He went on to be elected Captain and President of Claremorris Golf Club and in latter years he liked nothing better than spending time on the practice area in the club watching the flight of the ball as he hit shot after shot. His biggest legacy though from a golfing perspective was the amount of people he helped to improve their golf game; an acknowledgment authority on the mechanics of the swing he helped many people to achieve single figures or better. The most notable amongst them were: Alan Moran, Ivan Burke, Martin 'Tar' Higgins, Jimmy McGlennon, John Burke, John Rafferty and of course his nephews the Killeen brothers, Pat, John, Peter and Colm. He was so proud of Pat who of course achieved a plus handicap and had been such a fine ambassador for the club for many years now. He really enjoyed the recent Ryder Cup in the company of Pat and his great friend Arthur French at the K Club. Outside of sport he was a highly intelligent and learned individual; he was in his element figuring out mathematical puzzles, equations and anything else that would tax the intellect, his command of the English language was comparable to any other, he showed his eloquence to good effect during his stints as Captain and President of Claremorris Golf Club. Fr Gerry French, his close friend, in a moving and beautiful homily, referred to his butcher shop being his theatre, here he often held court as he philosophised on happenings local, national and international. His butcher shop was a meeting place for those that loved a cut of good meat, carved by a master craftsman, it was also a haunt for those with no interest in meat but loved his wry wit, his good humour and his ability to laugh at others as well as himself. He often questioned the decision-makers, the legislators, and the team managers and asked, "How could they do they do such a thing"? "Could you believe they could make such a decision?" He had his own take on anything and everything, making him interesting and endearing company. An inherently shy individual deep down Mickey was a much-loved character that appealed to people far and wide. The huge crowds that attended his funeral on both days spoke louder than words; the Guard of Honour formed by members of Claremorris Golf and GAA Clubs was a fitting tribute to a great Claremorris and Mayo man. Our deepest sympathy go to his brother, John, his sisters Mary, Betty and Ina, brothers-in-law,sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, many relatives and friends. Ar dheis De go raibh se. AG Courtesy of the Mayo News 8 November 2006 Tweet

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