London hurling great Patsy O'Neill has died aged 68. The Tipperary native was laid to rest in his hometown of Cappawhite after a battle with cancer. O'Neill is rated by his peers in London as one of the seminal players of his generation. Tributes have been paid by friends and former teammates.
"He was one of the greats to have played the game here," said former London and Brian Boru teammate Johnny Barrett.
"... As good a scoring forward as I ever saw in any county. His speed was unbelievable and his skills were super sharp.
"If only we could have got him to train more, he would have been a hero," he laughed. "He was just a natural. I hurled with him when he came to the Brians and for London through the late '60s and the '70s and he moved back to Tipperary in the late 90s. He was a great character off the pitch too, a quiet, placid fella with a great sense of fun."
Former teammate and Brian Boru captain Sean Reid said: "Patsy was very versatile, one of the most skilful players I have seen. He was a Tipperary minor, joined the Brians and had the talent to play in any position from the midfield in. He stands out as one of the greats in London hurling."
A member of the Exile team that beat Galway in the All-Ireland senior hurling quarter-final in 1973 before bowing out to Limerick in the semi-finals, O'Neill was also a key player on the famous Brian Boru team that won three London SHC titles in a row (1969-71).
He was also part of the London Intermediate hurling team that returned All Ireland titles in 1967 and 1968.
Long-time opponent and St Gabriels' clubman Ambrose Gordon said: "Patsy is definitely in the top five hurlers to ever play in London. He was right-half forward on the London team that beat Galway in '73 and was a pivotal player on a club team now regarded as one of the great teams, not only in London, but in Ireland too. He was a forward with vision and always returned 1-5 or 1-6 whenever he played. I lined out against him many times during the great rivalry between St Gabriels and Brian Borus and he was a nightmare to play against, very difficult to mark and the key man in many games for the Brians and for London."
Patsy O'Neill is survived by his wife and children.

Irish Post, 31st August 2013 Tweet

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