Passing of Niall Buckley regretted across Duhallow
FORMER DROMTARIFFE GAA CHAIRMAN CHARLIE DRAKE PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE LATE NIALL BUCKLEY WHOSE SUDDEN DEATH OCCASIONED SADNESS IN HIS NATIVE DROMTARIFFE, AND IN NEWMARKET WHERE HE OPERATED A DENTISTRY PRACTICE
DROMTARRIFFE GAA and its community along with friends throughout Duhallow and beyond gathered last week (with social distance adherence) to mourn and sympathise with the partner and family of one true gentleman, Niall Buckley.
Well known, Niall was respected and loved far and near from his dentistry practice in Newmarket in addition to his farming, social and, most of all, from his GAA and soccer activities.
Niall had one of the most infectious smiles, a mild manner and a fantastic personality. His passing met with an outpouring of grief, sadness and disbelief that it could happen to one so young and so sudden; men, women, young and old shedding tears, testament to the popularity of Niall.
Niall’s GAA activities on the playing fields are well known, he played for Dromtariffe from a young age in the 1970’s right up to the late 1990’s with a short break while he went to England where he studied and completed his dentistry training.
From a GAA career, Niall was a pleasure to be involved with from a coaching point of view. Never moaned, never mouthing off, never challenged an order, never cribbed about a position he would be picked to play in.
Just give him a jersey with a number on it and he would get on with it. But his favourite position was in the back line, wing or corner, left or right made no difference to Niall.
Whatever position you picked Niall to play in you need never worry or be watching that part of the field during a game. An opponent once said to me coming off the field after a hard fought close game which we won:
‘Jesus, Drake, that Niall Buckley is some player, all smiles and chats until the ball come our way. But even if you manage to win the ball, there wasn’t a thing you could do with it because whatever knack he had, he made sure you were facing the wrong way and going away from the goal with the ball’.
Hard as nails he was when he tackled - you knew you were tackled and as soon as the ball was gone, back came that smile.
As long as I can remember Niall playing football, I never saw him get injured; never on the ground or asking for a drink of water, he had some engine. Seldom heard but always seen, Niall came into the dressing room smiling and left the dressing room smiling, no matter what the result.
He never spoke a bad word about an opponent, no matter what happened during the game. Never pulled a dirty stroke, never gave away frees to the opposing team, but a great man to engineer one or two if things weren’t going our way.
Unfortunately, the club was going through a lean spell during his period at all levels, reaching semi finals and finals but failing to make that break through until 1988/89/90 at Minor level and in 1994/95 success returned at junior level when he was concentrating on his dentistry practice, yet he always made himself available if required for the Junior B’s, never let the club down
We are all feeling the loss of Niall but none more so than his Partner Jillian, Parents Donagh and Maureen, Brothers Donagh and Ian, Sister Elaine, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbours, friends, Rathcoole Rovers Soccer Club team mates and his Dromtariffe GAA colleagues. May Niall’s Soul rest in peace - you may be gone from us Niall but you will always be with us in spirit.
A good Friend is like a Four leaf Clover, Hard to Find, and lucky to have. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal