Death of former Crosserlough GAA stalwart, Tom Dowd

THE death on Wednesday last at Cavan General Hospital of Tom Dowd, Latnadrona, Crosserlough, removes from the scene one of the county"s best-known GAA personalities. In his 82nd year he was at the helm of the GAA at almost every level in Cavan from juvenile right up to senior; also serving at county level as a senior and minor selector and chairman of Cavan minor board. He also gained prominence when a ladies GAA football association was affiliated in the county and saw a number of clubs affiliated. He gained national recognition for his efforts in strengthening the sport throughout the county and province when he was elected national president in 1979. Tom"s name is synonymous with the GAA in Cavan and in particular with Crosserlough GFC. There was always a keen interest at club level in Crosserlough but through the dominance of Cornafean and Mullahoran they were never a force in football from the early 1900s until they made the breakthrough in 1958 when winning the first of their nine senior titles. Prior to that both Crosserlough and Drumkilly had a team as far back as 1888 and was followed by a number of teams among them Ardkill, Leeharry Emmets, Drumscrudden Shamrocks, Drumrora, Crosserlough Young Irelanders, Crosserlough Gaels, Kilnaleck and Drumkilly. Following minor success in 1954 and "55, it was the beginning of the modern era of Crosserlough club. In 1956 they won the junior league and they and Drumkilly once again reunited under the chairmanship of Tom Dowd. The club"s first major breakthrough in senior ranks came when they won the 1957 senior league title, a competition which wasn"t completed until 1958 and in the process defeated what later became their formidable Cavan town rivals, Cavan Gaels. Tom was both club chairman and team trainer that year. Seven in a row Tom presided over the club as chairman when they produced a remarkable achievement of a record-breaking seven in a row senior football championship titles from 1966 to 1972, something of which he was particularly proud and a record which is unlikely to be equalled for some years to come. Tom, as club chairman along with the then club secretary Peter Byrd, did more than anyone else to help knit the club and its various grades of teams into formidable teams. Tom was also recognised as a shrewd man when it came to assessing a player"s talent and someone who would be a likely asset at county level. He was a former chairman of the Cavan minor board and worked hard to help the county make an impact at this level, the county winning only two provincial titles over a 50-year period, 1959 and 1974. As a selector with the Cavan senior and U21 teams under the various regimes led by Mick Higgins, Gabriel Kelly, Fr. Bennie Maguire and PJ Carroll, Eugene McGee among others, his enthusiasm was always to the fore. A number of players from the Crosserlough club enjoyed spells with Cavan teams in various grades, notably at senior level in the sixties among them Andy McCabe, John Joe O"Reilly, Brendan Donohoe, Paddy Lyons, Gene Cusack and Peter Cahill and prior to that in the fifties, Noel O"Reilly, Brian O"Reilly, Hubert Gaffney, Sean Byers, Paraic Boyle and Denis King and further back Mick Higgins and Peter Donohoe, until the latter two went to Mountnugent. Ladies football Tom took a deep and passionate interest in ladies football and was at the cusp of the organising of the game in the county, helping to organise the club structures and graduating to inter-county competitions with resounding success, culminating in provincial and All-Ireland successes and being recognised for his achievements. When the Ladies Board was set up in Cavan in 1975 through the efforts of himself and John Joe Brady (Mullahoran), only two clubs affiliated at that meeting, Drumalee and Mullahoran. He became its first chairman the following year when the number of clubs was increased to eight (At the present time there are 26 clubs affiliated). He held the post of chairman from 1975 to 1983 and again from 1994 to 2002. He never missed a monthly county board meeting and was still attending up to last February. He later became Ulster chairman and then national president in 1979, the latter post he held for three years. He was also at the helm when Cavan won the All-Ireland title in 1977, and there were further honours in the same year winning the Under-16 crown. His hard work was recognised when he achieved the inaugural Hall of Fame award in ladies football in 2003 from President Mary McAleese. He was also the recipient of a presentation from the Cavan Ladies Board in 2008 on his 80th birthday and also his services to Cavan ladies football. The Ulster colleges competition is named in his honour with teams competing annually for the O"Dowd Cup. Tom worked with many people in order to keep the sport vibrant nationally and locally. These included Mick Fitzgerald (Kerry), Mick Talbot (Offaly), Mary Wheatly (Laois), Ann Naughton (Roscommon), Liam Forde (Galway) and Tom Kenny (Offaly). In 2006, Tom was a selector with the Cavan team that won the Ulster Junior championship title after a thrilling game against Fermanagh in Clones. At club level Tom and Martha Smith were involved in the underage girls in Crosserlough and in 2008 helped to realise a breakthrough when the team picked up the U-12 Roinn D championship title. Over the recent May Bank Holiday weekend, Crosserlough"s U-14 girls collected the county Féile title for the first time ever and will represent the country in the national finals in Kildare. He would have been extremely proud of their achievements especially as his daughter Tina, was a member of the team"s selectors. Family man While Tom"s contribution to the GAA at all levels has been well documented it cannot be forgotten that he had many other pursuits both public and private. For one thing he was a devoted family man who in turn gave him full support in his sporting and cultural activities. He was deeply committed to his Catholic faith and was a regular attender at all major occasions in St Mary"s Church in Crosserlough. Tom not only had an interest in sport but in between his busy schedule as a farmer he also took time out to assist the parish in other local activities. He had a lifelong interest in amateur drama and played many and varied roles from Scór sketches to more prominent roles in formal productions. He is particularly remembered for his portrayal of Flanagan "the publican and auctioneer" in the Crosserlough Macra na Feirme"s production of John B. Keane"s 'The Field'. He shared with his brother Sean in the many awards received in the 1970s with this production. A lifelong pioneer, he lent his full support to many of the voluntary organisations in the parish His off-farm work included agricultural contracting in which he specialised in silage saving and transporting of milk to Kilnaleck Creamery where he also served as a member of the management committee. His means of transportation of milk cans attracted much attention and was known as the first four-wheel vehicle in Crosserlough, even though it was horse drawn. It was an ex-Dublin dray of a type used by Guinness for deliveries around the city and had a turn table to give flexibility and steering to the front wheels. It was drawn by two horses and on the front Tom constructed a special driver"s cab. The children in the area considered it a great treat to get a ride on Tom"s unique transport as he made his daily trips to and from the creamery. GAA his first love However the GAA was Tom"s first love. Throughout his adult life his passion and motivation were uppermost and these attributes often gave rise to differences of opinion with those with whom he came in contact after games or at county board meetings, often as not included a rap at the local media, if he felt it needed a rap on the knuckles. However once he had made his point, it was quickly forgotten and friendships were quickly renewed. Tom Dowd achieved much during his lifetime and he will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Maureen, daughters, Anna and Mrs Tina Briody; his brothers, Sean and Mick, Crosserlough and his sister, Kathleen, Crosserlough. The funeral took place on Friday last from St Mary"s Church, Crosserlough to the adjoining cemetery. Fr Michael Quinn, PP officiated. The attendance included a number of representatives from local and voluntary organisations in which Tom had a great interest as well as the GAA. Cavan Co Board secretary, Liam McCabe on behalf of the clubs in the county paid a special tribute during the funeral mass.