With the passing of the late Joey Byrne to his eternal reward on Thursday last, the GAA in Inniskeen and Monaghan has lost another link with a glorious period in their past.

The late Joey was an outstanding player with club and County, first making the headlines in the final of the senior football championship in 1952, although disappointment was his lot on that day as his beloved Inniskeen were beaten by a single point by Clontibret. At club level he played alongside such greats as the late Jack Crawley and the three O’Rourke brothers, Ollie, Paddy and Fran.

The qualities he showed on that particular occasion brought to the notice of the County selectors and he was soon wearing the County jersey and established himself as a regular with the County for over a decade. The highlight of his playing career though was Monaghan’s victorious year of 1956 when the County annexed the Ulster and All Ireland Junior football championship titles.

Joey Byrne featured in every game in that entire campaign, forming a very strong midfield partnership with Seamus McElroy of Latton and that partnership played a key role as they saw off teams such as Down, Antrim and Cavan to win out in Ulster and then Kerry after a replay in the All Ireland semi-final to set up a meeting with Kildare in the All Ireland home final, where they progressed to the All Ireland final proper against London, that game played in Carrickmacross and Joey, along with a lot of his teammates carried shoulder high following that famous victory.

At club level Joey represented. Inniskeen for many years, but a senior championship medal eluded him, although he did win an Owen Ward Cup medal in 1958 and two Father Hackett cup medals in 1959 and 1960. He was dedicated to the Inniskeen club throughout his life, never missed a match and even up to his latter years would have visited Grattan Park, practically every day of the week.

A gentle man to his core he loved nothing better than talking football and his incisive knowledge of the game was an inspiration to many. His passing is a huge loss to his family, but it also leaves a gap in the Inniskeen club and in the annals of the game in the County.

Ar dheis lamh De go raibh a anam dilis.

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