The Clann na nGael GAA club has paid a fitting tribute to the late John Doherty following his passing on Saturday.

A Tribute to John

We got up on Sunday

morning to the sad news of the passing of John Doherty. To speak about John or to pay a fitting tribute to the man we would need to write an encyclopedia sized book, John was everybody's friend, a man who we all used to look forward to seeing in the park in Athboy, a place which was his second home.

John Doherty was known on a first name basis by Gaels across the County, not only from his exploits on the Hurling field as a player but also through his lifetime of service to the people of Meath when he worked with Spicers Bakery.

Decades ago John grew up in St James Terrace in the Doherty homestead and all the youngsters in the town used to enter the GAA park through the Doherty house, down the back garden and through the hedge, the Doherty house in the Terrace was regarded as the GAA headquarters and that's just the way it was back then as children from all over the town congregated there. That in itself is just a wonderful memory of the Doherty family.

John was a hurler from the time he could walk, along with his brothers Tommy and Martin the park was their "back garden" and this is where the skills they had were developed over the years to become the extraordinary hurlers that they were.

John won many honours over a very long career, the Doherty name is synonymous with the GAA in Athboy over the past 100 years. John's father (Rack Doherty) and his uncle Jim won an All Ireland Junior Hurling title in 1927. John along with his brothers played Juvenile Hurling and Football for the O Growney Hurling and Football club. In 1964 the club won their first ever Feis Cup, John was of course part of that team and went on to win 6 Feis Cups. John also won 5 Senior Hurling Championships with Athboy and numerous other titles. John along with his brother Martin emulated the glory days of their father and uncle when in 1970 they were part of the Meath team which won the All Ireland Junior Hurling title some 43 years later. John was a free taker who could score from all angles, one of the men who played Hurling with John said today as we prepared this tribute that once Athboy got a free within 80 yards of goal it was a guaranteed score once John stepped up to take it.

The longevity of John's playing career would not be equalled nowadays. After all the Senior Championships that he won, he continued playing and while in his 40's he scored 3-13 in an Intermediate Hurling Final v Dunshaughlin, as if that statistic is not mind boggling enough the next one is just amazing as years later in a Junior B Hurling Final v Killyon the headline on the sports pages on the Meath Chronicle after the game read "Doherty scores 5-05 at 55". At 55 years of age John was still winning Championships but not only did John play and score freely, the guidance, advice, encouragement and confidence that he gave to the younger lads on that team is one of the many reasons why everyone loved John.

John instilled in his family all the good qualities he had in himself, his personality, his love of family and his love of the GAA. Both his sons Sean and Barry followed in his footsteps and were fine Hurlers themselves and now John's grandchildren continue that tradition and represent the Club in Hurling, Football, Camogie and Ladies Football.

When John retired from playing his involvement with the club continued, he was a coach, selector and manager of various teams down through the years, passing on his knowledge and wisdom to all the players who came after him. At Committee level John served on Juvenile and Senior club Committee's over the years and was Chairman of our Juvenile and Senior clubs at different times leading the club and guiding it along a path which can be seen to this day with the fabulous facilities that we have for our current crop of players. After his work at Committee level John was the caretaker of Pairc Ui Ghramaigh in his spare time, there wasn't a blade of grass out of place on the pitch and one compliment we can add to that is the many comments that were made over the years about the high standard and quality of the pitch in Athboy, this is something that the current pitch committee aspire to and try and keep things to the standard that John set. The cutting of grass, lining the pitch for games, maintaining the dressing rooms and carpark was recognised by the County Board as they fixed so many Championship games every weekend in Athboy because they knew that everything would be ready and in pristine condition when John was there.

John had a very able and capable assistant in his wife Theresa who was always a constant support to him in the park. On many occasions Theresa could be seen cleaning out Dressing rooms etc after games and training.

John's commitment to the club was rewarded with the Club person of the year award in the 2000's and again in 2019 when John and Theresa received the Club Person of the Year award jointly, a fitting tribute to a wonderful couple.

John Doherty will be remembered forever. He was a gentleman, a friend and colleague, an advisor and a man who saw the good in everyone he met. He will be missed by us all and even though John has not been in the park for a couple of years, we always knew he was there in the background pushing us on.

We are all thinking of John and the Doherty family and share in their grief for the loss of a legend and gentleman, two words that should always be mentioned when John Doherty is spoken about.

Our deepest sympathy to Theresa, Sean, Joan, Orla and Barry, all their families, to the extended Doherty family and to John's very large circle of friends.

Rest in peace John

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