'A guy you could really trust, a guy you would follow'

Tributes paid to the late Maigh Cuilinn and Galway footballer Paul Clancy

THE community of Maigh Cuilinn and the wider Galway football fraternity are this week mourning the loss of Paul Clancy who passed away at the age of 49.

A renowned wing-forward - and centre-back in later years - Clancy was an integral part of the county's Sam Maguire successes in 1998 and 2001, and also won five provincial medals during a glittering career with the Tribesmen.

At club level, he was an inspiration on and off the field. Maigh Cuilinn captured the 2008 All-Ireland Intermediate title in his playing days, and he later went on to manage the senior team before helping to guide the club, in his role as chairman, to unprecedented success in Galway and Connacht.

Two county senior titles, as well as one Connacht, were won by the side managed by Clancy's late brother-in-law and former Roscommon footballer, Don Connellan, who died last August.

"All at Cumann Peile Mhaigh Cuilinn were deeply saddened to hear of the recent passing of Paul Clancy," read a tribute by the club on Tuesday morning.

"Hailing from the Clancy family, the GAA was in his blood – like his uncles and late father he was a natural sportsman, his formative years were spent at the pitch.

"In 1998 Paul was a key member of a young Galway team who started the season as unknowns and ended as All-Ireland champions. Sadly for the Clancy family, Paul’s father Padraic passed away in the previous year and never got to see Paul win an All-Ireland.

"2001 saw Galway win another All Ireland with Paul again playing a key role, most notably his long range injury-time winner against Armagh in the qualifiers.

"As a footballer he was hugely skilful, fiercely strong and a very clever player. A talisman for the club for years, Paul's crowning glory was playing a starring role in the 2008 All-Ireland Intermediate win, controlling games at centre-back.

"Paul had a genuine love for the game, when he finished playing he transferred straight into coaching and then club chairman – in his first year as chair Maigh Cuilinn won our first ever county title. During his four-year tenure as club chairman we won two County and one Connacht title.

"Paul is our most decorated player, an inspiration to a generation, remembered for having a sweet left peg, being teak tough and having an unwavering mindset. But beyond the playing pitches he leaves a lasting legacy, he was an icon to so many in our community, so well known, so well respected, and always had a word for everyone. A straight shooter with the boot and, if needed, with the lip. Calm and assured, reliable and loyal.

"We think of his wife Johanna, children Ellen and Finn, Paul's mother Mary, brother Gearóid, sisters Linda and Ailish, and all in the wider Clancy and Fahy families. Paul was known as a sports man, but above all he was a family man, a great friend and a man we were lucky to have met. Rest easy a chara, we will miss you more than words can say."

Herald Sport spoke to two members of Galway's successful team from the late 1990s and early 2000s, Derek Savage and Ray Silke, who paid tribute to Clancy's rich legacy.

"Paul was a great friend and a great teammate," said Savage. "I started playing with him in 1994 at minor and we played together for a lot of years after that, at all ages all the way up through to senior. He was wing-forward and I was corner-forward on most of the Galway teams that I would have played on over the years.

"He was a fellow you'd want beside you, you hear that phrase 'when you're going into battle'. Clance was certainly one of those guys that you knew what you were going to get - fiercely competitive, fiercely committed, and one of the most skilful players I ever played with and against as a player.

"I was lucky enough to play with a lot of great players. His vision and his passing were probably his main strengths as a player, but also his ball winning. We were blessed that in the half-forward line with the fielders we had. Clance could outfield anyone really on his day, and then his vision when he came down.

"We had a great understanding playing together for so long, whether the time was right to hit a ball in over the top, or hit you in front, or across the field, or whatever it was. We had kind of an understanding, basically. I suppose we learned it over time, all the way from when we were 16 or 17, all the way through the years.

"You wouldn't doubt him. Paul was a guy, you just wouldn't doubt him whatever. He'd always follow through. A guy you could really trust, a guy you would follow. I think he was a leader on the field. He probably didn't have the profile of some of the other guys on the teams over the years, but the opposition would have huge respect for him. The players that played with him had huge respect for him and his ability. He would just go to war with you, you were glad you had him on your side.

"There were many moments. His pass to Deccie [Meehan] for his goal in the All-Ireland final replay in 2000 against Kerry was just exceptional. His vision. I had been the recipient of a lot of those types of passes over the years. It showed his ability to think under pressure.

"The point he got against Armagh [in 2001] was such an incredibly difficult score. After he got the pass from Mikey [Donnellan], he was doubling back out and Mikey was actually running in, so there were three or four players in his way. And the ability for him to shift his feet and get such a strike on the ball and to nail it. I think that shows his character, it showed his ability, his skill level."

Ray Silke captained Galway to Sam Maguire glory 28 years ago when Clancy, in the early part of his intercounty career, recovered from injury to feature in their All-Ireland win.

"In 1998, he came in and had he not got injured against Leitrim [Connacht semi-final], more than likely he would have been an automatic the whole way through," said Silke. "He broke a bone in his leg against Leitrim, and it's to his credit that he got back and he came on in the final [against Kildare]. He was ever-present for the next eight or nine years. He did so many great things on that team.

"He was incredibly witty. You couldn't help but be having a bit of a craic with him. He was a good guy, very decent. He was just very, very cool, very laid-back. But when he was playing then, he was very serious about it.

"The point he scored in 2001 against Armagh, it was a huge, huge score. And his pass to Deccie [Meehan] in 2000 is an iconic moment. Just absolutely iconic.

"Colm Keys [Irish Independent GAA correspondent] rang me a few days ago, He said he considers that pass to Deccie one of the all-time, all-time passes. A no-look pass in an Ireland final!"

Silke, who lives in Maigh Cuilinn, also spoke of his admiration for Clancy's role in building the club into the high-quality, successful outfit it is today.

"To train them and manage them first, but then as club chairman for four years. They had their greatest success ever. They won Galway in 2020 and '22.

"He brought in Don [Connellan as manager] which was a masterstroke. I respected him for going in as club chairman so young. He was an ambitious fellow who had a lovely laid-back style."

Savage also paid tribute to Clancy's selfless work at club level.

"Maigh Cuilinn is probably a bigger club now. When he started, it was a relatively small club and you heard about this Paul Clancy guy that was coming in terms of a footballer. Obviously, in later years, he did everything with the club - player, manager, chairman - in what was a hugely successful period for them. I think he laid a lot of that foundation for them.

"The belief that somebody like Paul would bring to the club is really important because Paul was a winner. That was his mindset and he was successful in everything he did - whether that was family, work, or on the sporting field.

"Paul was a very good friend of mine. Just a really fun guy to be around as well, enjoyed the banter, really enjoyed the craic, and could tell a great story. You just wanted to be in his company. I think that's the way everybody felt.

"We will all badly miss him, but we were very lucky to have known him and to have had such great times together."

Galway GAA chairman Paul Bellew also added to the tributes to Paul Clancy before offering his condolences to his wife and family.

“All in Galway GAA were devastated by Paul's passing when we learned of it on Monday," said Bellew.

“He was a fantastic representative for this county and for his club and made a serious impact on both, both on the field and off the field, which is a credit to him and to his legacy that he has left on both.

“I think if you're of a certain era, of a certain vintage, Paul is just indented in your memory of 1998 and 2001, and indeed of 2000 in terms of the moments he provided.

“He was responsible for some of the biggest moments we had in Galway GAA when you think of his score against Armagh in 2001, the no-look pass to Deccie Meehan for the goal in 2000 and the role he played across those years for Galway GAA, back at centre-back when needed too.

“He was a genius of a player on top of that. And not to be discounted a fantastic hurler as well, having experience of directly marking him against Maigh Cuilinn a couple of times in my time.

“He’s someone we were trying to get involved at a County Board level as he was finishing up with Maigh Cuilinn. He was interested but the demands of his job as well made it challenging, but that's the mark we held him in.

“You see what he has created in Maigh Cuilinn. The input he had into that was huge. To serve as his club chair, and to be involved with so many teams, it is just testament to his legacy and that's just football terms.

“I think the loss to Johanna and his family, and all of his club is going to be huge and that's the real loss. We send our condolences to them all. We're thinking of them over this time and also to his teammates in Maigh Cuilinn but also in Galway.

“It's the jubilee team of 2001 coming up as well. Paul was very much involved in the preparations for that in terms of the weekend ahead with Gary Fahey and Sean Óg de Paor and it's going to hit those guys really, really hard as well.

“We remember him fondly for everything he's done, everything he has achieved and in particular for his family and friends, we're thinking of them over the coming days.”

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm.