Offaly GAA mourn passing of Harry 'Har' Donnelly
February 04, 2021
The Offaly team that took on Roscommon in the 1961 All Ireland SFC semi final. Front l-r: Sean Brereton, Charlie Wrenn, Harry Donnelly, Willie Nolan, John Egan, Mick Brady, Tommy Greene. Back l-r: Greg Hughes, Peter Daly, Paddy McCormack, Mick Casey, Phil O'Reilly, Donie Hanlon, Sean Ryan, Tommy Cullen.
Another link with the breakthrough Offaly football team of 1960 and '61 has been broken with the death of Harry 'Har' Donnelly.
Considered one of the county's greatest ever footballers, Harry was a star forward on the great Offaly side that won a historic first Leinster SFC title at Louth's expense in 1960. A year later, his scoring exploits helped the Faithful County retain the provincial crown and contest their maiden All-Ireland final, only to be narrowly beaten by Down, 2-8 to 3-6. 'Har' lined out at number 15 in that Down clash, a game which Offaly could so easily have won.
Having moved from Kilcormac to Athlone at a young age, Harry won an All-Ireland Vocational Schools medal with Westmeath, and also represented the Lake County at juvenile level. But he eventually declared for his native Offaly and went on to forge a successful career in the green, white and gold jersey.
The death has sadly occurred of former Offaly football star Harry (Har) Donnelly. An outstanding forward and free-taker, he was a key player on the Offaly team that won the Leinster Senior Football title in 1960 and reached the All-Ireland final in '61.https://t.co/sJ8yTh81We pic.twitter.com/I3nr3Z6b09
— Official Offaly GAA (@Offaly_GAA) February 4, 2021
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