The Late Vincent Daly Offaly lost one of its most widely known and respected figures with the death of Vincent Daly after a prolonged illness. His wide circle of friends in Ireland and London were shocked by the news of his untimely death at the early age of 63 years. Vincent became ill last year and was nursed faithfully by his wife Bernie at his home in Portlaoise, with great help from the nurses at Portlaoise Hospice. He spent periods of time in Tullamore General Hospital where he was visited each day by his close friend, Noel McGee. Vincent is survived by his loving wife, Bernie ( Portlaoise Arms, Portlaoise), his brothers, Pat (Lal), Kilcormac and Austin (London), sisters in law, brothers in law, nieces and nephews. His demise was preceded in earlier years by the loss of his brother, James ("Butch") in London in 1993 and the tragic death of son, Jimmy (18) in 1984. Both bereavements impacted hugely on the rest of Vincent's life and indeed on his beloved wife. The arrival of his remains in Kilcormac, was met and accompanied by an impressive guard of honour from the Ballyboy Road to the Church of the Nativity, as an indication of Vincent Daly's impact on the community in which he had grown up, left for most of his working life and to which he returned in later years. Significantly, the guard of honour was led by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen and local GAA stalwart, Mick Spain. It was made up of three separate organisations Kilcormac/Killoughey GAA Club, Kilcormac Cumann Fianna Fail and the Offaly Association in London which included five former chairmen (Kieran Devery, Donie Egan, Pat Berry, Ray Digan and Austin Brennan). The GAA guard also included recently retired County Board Chairman, Brendan Ward while the Fianna Fail Cumann included local councillor, Tom Feighery. The vast crowd waiting at the Church was indicative of Vincent's widespread popularity. Mass was concelebrated by Fr Edward Daly PP and Fr Tom Scully, a legendary former Offaly football trainer. The graveside oration at the local St Joseph's Cemetery was delivered by Minister Brian Cowen, giving a wide ranging insight into the remarkable life of Vincent Daly, much of which was intertwined with his brothers, Austin and the late Butch during their working lives in London. Vincent's parents were Annie and Jimmy Daly, his mother hailing from Kilkenny while his father was a native of Kilcormac, who was active in the Republican movement in his early years. Vincent, being the eldest of the five brothers, was described as bright and outgoing at school and indeed showed early prospects of success in whatever field of work he would choose. He soon joined the major employer of the midlands then- Bord na Mona from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s. By then he had sampled the pub trade, as a part time bar man at J.J. Spain's in Kilcormac. His first love in sport was hurling, having played at all grades, including minor hurling for Offaly and winning a junior medal with his club. As a referee, he would probably have attained prominence if he stayed in Ireland, as he didn't avoid difficult or unusual decision ( He even stopped a club game at O'Connor Park to enforce a player to remove a finger ring - Not against the rules then, but is now). He had met his future wife, Bernie Noonan, Ballingarry before emigrating to London where they soon married and where their son, Jimmy was born. Vincent and Bernie began a "Daly Empire" in the pub business in London, to where he was soon followed by his brothers, Butch and Austin. "The Springbok", White City, West London became the City, West London became the "engine room" for their fledgling business empire as first Vincent, then Butch, then Austin all became managers there, the latter with his wife Brigid remaining there long term, while the older brothers moved onto larger and demanding premises. Vincent and Bernie managed the vast Manor House premises in north London from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. This huge and popular premises became a focal point of Offaly community activities in the early 1970s, including monthly meetings and some of the social calendar of the Offaly Association, of which Vincent was chairman from 1973 to 1976. The late Butch and his late wife, Phil spent a long and successful spell at the "Flower Pot", Tottenham ( A lively social venue for young people in the 1970s). Butch and Phil took a ten year tenure at the Harbour Lights, Action before managing various premises until their health precluded business from the early 1990's. The Manor House was also a starting point for many a young person from Offaly, who was introduced to the London bar trade through the Daly's huge network of publican friends. The Daly's were themselves high profile, successful and widely respected and the name became synonymous with business success and Offaly - GAA or County Association and some dare-devil stories. Vincent and his brothers were remarkably generous to Offaly and to so many of its young people in search of a "start" in London. They have never been truly acknowledged during their life time for their selfless kindness. Vincent joined the Offaly Association (London) at a reception for the 1969 Offaly team ( All-Ireland finalists) held at the Oval Cricket Grounds in May 1970. He made an immediate and substantial donation to help defray costs of that evening. Over the next decade in particular, the Daly brothers had a major and progressive influence on that organisations, some of which is evident to this day. Vincent became chairman from 1973-1976 which was a crucial period when the climate for the Irish in Britain was difficult and Offaly's fortunes in gaelic sport on the home front had declined after the glorious break through years, impacting on the wider appeal of the County Association. It was time for lively leadership. His outgoing manner, spirited character and generosity overcame many a daunting task and for a time being "daring and different" became the forte of the Offaly Association, Needless to say there were many memorable moments on the social scene. Vincent's influence in the London Irish business community was extensive and put to good effect on the social, financial and in particular, the welfare front. With his brothers and their wives, they gave generously of their time and indeed finance for the benefit of fellow country men, but with Offaly always the centre of the focus. Some of the stories of Daly brothers generosity in our celebrations of the 1971/1972 All-Irelands have rightly gone into Offaly folklore. Vincent didn't always let the high life rule his better judgement and consolidated their success by purchasing pubs in the midlands in Ireland. He was undoubtedly generous, sometimes to a fault. He was more than outgoing he was charismatic. He was one of life's great characters, who could raise a laugh when all around him would be mundane. It Offaly passion could be personified, it was Vincent Daly. Courtesy of the Offaly Express June 2003 Tweet

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