Tara Rocks grieve for legendary Bill Owley
Wexford GAA bids sad farewell to this principled champion of the grassroots
THE GAA hasn’t produced too many characters of the calibre of Bill Owley, who passed to his eternal reward at the age of 84 on Tuesday of last week.
If ever one person summarised what it means to be completely devoted to the grassroots of the association, then it was Bill in his lifelong love affair with the Tara Rocks club.
I was alerted to his death by a post on their Twitter feed, and I must compliment whoever put the words together because it was a beautiful, succinct tribute.
‘A GAA club is defined by the people involved and if ever a club was to be defined by a name, Tara Rocks Gaa is wholly defined by Bill Owley.
‘Please remember Bill and his family in your prayers tonight. Our President and true friend Bill has left us this evening to his eternal rest.
‘Our club is forever thankful for all you have done over your time and we pray for your gentle soul. Rest in peace.’
It is indeed true that some names in the local GAA community are indelibly associated with a particular club.
For example, it’s impossible to see a reference to the Quigleys without thinking of Rathnure. The same holds true for the Dorans and Buffers Alley, the Jacobs and Oulart-The Ballagh, the Fitzhenrys and Duffry Rovers, and the Berrys and St. Anne’s.
In the case of Bill Owley and Tara Rocks, I don’t think one was ever mentioned without alluding to the other.
I encountered him in all his glory during my time reporting on Conventions and County Board meetings between 1991 and 2006.
He was a seasoned veteran at such gatherings by that stage, a point highlighted below by Brendan Furlong who remembers his lively contribution to the debate that led to the removal of the Ban 50 years ago this month.
Bill had a very distinctive public speaking voice, the kind that carried across a large room.
And when he got to his feet and forcibly declared ‘Mr. Chairman’, he always had the audience in the palm of his hand.
In my time at those meetings, the speaker would have to wait to receive the roving mic before elaborating on the point to be made.
In reality, Bill didn’t need one in order to be heard, but it still lent an air of dramatic expectation to proceedings.
In the few seconds before he could address his fellow delegates, I often wondered about the thoughts going through the head of the Chairman of the day.
‘What’s Bill going to come up with now?’ One thing’s for sure, the top table needed to be wide awake and on their toes when their friend from the north of the county got into his stride.
He would have addressed his remarks to Joe O’Shaughnessy, the late Paddy Wickham, the late Sheamus Howlin, and Seán Quirke, during my era at those meetings.
And Bill had dealt with another seven county Chairmen beforehand, going back to the 20-year reign of the late Seán Browne that ended in 1969.
Whether delegates agreed or disagreed
with his comments, it was rare for this champion of the smaller clubs to make a contribution without provoking laughter.
Bill was an entertainer on top of everything else, and it’s that aspect of his involvement in the GAA that many folk will remember with particular fondness.
Often times he had a willing accomplice in his colourful colleague from Gorey District, the late Oliver J. Murray.
If Bill was the inspiration for every man, woman and child in Tara Rocks, then Oliver filled the exact same role for his beloved St. Patrick’s (Ballyoughter).
And whenever the pair contributed to the same debate or supported the same cause, nobody was spared in getting their point across.
Their witty sayings and straight talking made for fabulous ‘copy’ for reporters. Sometimes it was comedy gold.
One of the saddest aspects of the trying
times we are living in is the necessity for the elderly among us to confine them- selves to home.
It’s a real shame from a GAA viewpoint, because normally at this time of year the annual Coiste na Seana Ghael gathering would be taking place in Ferrycarrig Hotel.
Bill celebrated his 70th birthday in
2006, and he was honoured himself by the committee two years later.
I have dug out P.J. Daly’s fine citation from that day and re-produce it in full here, because it will give younger readers a strong sense of Bill’s outstanding ability as a footballer:
‘Of all the great Minor footballers at club level, none has made such a lasting impression over the years than the ever popular and jovial Bill Owley from Clonsilla, just outside Gorey town.
‘Strong and towering, he was some man (for one man) and in his under-age
years controlled the centre half-back position with complete authority.
‘Bill always played with tremendous dash, spirit, courage, enthusiasm and a never-say-die attitude.
‘He was the shining star of his side, ‘The Rockies’, in winning Juvenile and Minor football honours in the early ’50s. Bill never spared himself in any game and was a great motivator, the ideal player to lift a team on or off the field.
‘Another of his great assets was his prodigious kicking from dead ball situations. He could drive a ball with powerful strength and send it soaring downfield.
‘Bill, in every game he participated in, showed great gusto, competence and determination. He had a penchant for driving out of defence, head bowed with the ball, and getting his forward line moving with long, accurate clearances.
‘One of Bill’s finest hours was with Rockies in their 1953 Co. Minor football semi-final win v. Starlights played in Ferns.
‘The four Gorey Blues footballers that impressed him most in his playing days were Joe McAuliffe, Johnny O’Brien, Jim Sheehan and Teddy Doyle.
‘When playing inter-county football for Wexford, the two most difficult opponents he met were ‘Toots’ Kelleher, Cork, and Mick Meally, Kilkenny. Tom Flynn, who played with Our Lady’s Island, was another player he found difficult to subdue at club level.
‘The two greatest footballers he has ever seen were the late Iggy Jones, Tyrone, and Joe Lennon, Down [since deceased].
‘Bill played for Wexford in Minor football, Junior football and Senior football in the ’50s. He was also an outstanding hurler with the Wolfe Tones and Liam Mellows.’
A man of principle, Bill never shirked from making a tough decision if he felt it was for the overall betterment of Tara Rocks.
A case in point was their short-lived involvement in the St. Michael’s amalgamation along with Naomh Eanna in the 1970s.
The clubs decided to come together for football purposes, with the deal brokered by Fr. Richard Kavanagh C.C., who was President of both at one time.
Bill was the chief negotiator for Tara Rocks, assisted by Billy Breen and Jack Fortune, while Fr. Kavanagh led the
Naomh Eanna delegation along with Tadhg Kelly and Denis Noonan, the Dubliner who played Senior football with Wexford during his stay in Gorey from 1972 to 1975.
There was instant success for St. Michael’s, beating Dan O’Connells to win the county Junior championship at the first attempt in 1974.
Bill was the Tara Rocks selector on that team, but he felt they were under-represented. As a result, they decided to go it alone again in 1975.
And, even though they shipped a very heavy beating from the Castletown second string, Bill was happier to see 15 out-and-out Rock men taking to the field rather than having a mere handful active with St. Michael’s.
He was extremely proud when his son, christened Patrick but known to one and all as ‘P’, represented Wexford in Senior hurling in 1984 and 1985, and even more so when he brought an All-Ireland Junior hurling medal home to the Rock after partnering Rod Guiney at midfield in a replay win over Cork in 1992.
Another son, John, was Wexford’s fullback when they lost the Leinster Junior final of 1993 to Kilkenny.
In more recent years, several of Bill’s grandchildren backboned the Ballynastragh Gaels under-age amalgamation between Tara Rocks and Kilanerin that
ultimately resulted in the clubs also uniting at adult level in 2017.
Upon seeing the Owley name on their teamsheet some time ago, I remarked to a mentor: ‘I presume he’s one of Bill’s grandsons.’
‘Sure, with a name like that, who else could he be?’ was his cheerful response.
When the Gorey District GAA committee hosted its first-ever awards night in the Ashdown Park Hotel on November 30, 2019, it was entirely fitting that Bill should be presented with the Tara Rocks clubperson award.
And on February 20 last, he was a very proud guest of honour at the official opening of their impressive new community centre and playing fields in the heart of the community.
Wouldn’t it be a fitting tribute if that facility was now christened the Bill Owley Memorial Park without further delay?
Far be it from me to tell the Tara Rocks club what they should do, but I’m sure others in a position to make such a call have thought about it already.
Sincere sympathy is extended to Bill’s wife Maggie, sons ‘P’, John and Liam, daughters Mary and Wendy, extended family and friends.
It can be said without fear of contradiction that the GAA community in Wexford has lost one of its best-loved characters.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.