Family, football and education - Paul leaves incredible legacy

Paul Lucey, 1944-2017.

BORN on the 22nd November 1944, Paul was the youngest son of Connie and Maureen Lucey of Caragh Lake, Killorglin, County Kerry. His elder brothers were Brendan, Noel, Jimmy and Vincent. Growing up around Caragh Lake meant that when he wasn’t fishing or stealing apples from orchards, his favourite pastime was playing football with his brothers and friends.

His earliest football exploits were in the local Parish Leagues, in chaotic matches, which he often fondly recalled. Paul played his first competitive match for Laune Rangers GAA Club at Under 14s level and enjoyed much success as a juvenile with the Rangers, where his father and brothers were already involved.

He attended Glounaguillagh National School at Caragh Lake and then went on to the Technical School in Killorglin.

At the age of 18 he joined the 6th Platoon at the Army Apprentice School in Naas and trained to be a Fitter. He spent three happy years at that school taking part in the All Ireland Army Championships in Football, Basketball and Athletics.

He made many lifelong friends while at Naas, and maintained those ties down through the years. As recently as September 2015 he enjoyed a lovely trip with his friends from the 6th Platoon to Normandy in France visiting the World War II landing sites and war memorials.

Upon leaving Naas, he moved to the Irish Army Barracks in the Curragh and while there was sent to Paris on a special course for army mechanics to train on the newly introduced Panard Tanks.

Shortly afterwards, he was commissioned as an NCO to travel to Cyprus on a peace keeping mission with the United Nations, alongside his brother Jimmy. He often recalled fond memories of that country and the narrow scrapes he and his comrades got into while on duty there. While in Cyprus he also played on the Irish Army Rugby Team in invitational rugby tournaments against the England Army Rugby Team.

In 1968 he left the Army and attended the Teacher Training College in Ringsend in Dublin and qualified as a Teacher in 1970, beginning employment with Tralee VEC by teaching metalwork, engineering and technical drawing at the Tralee Community College.

Later, Paul studied at the University of Limerick undertaking a Bachelor of Technology in Education in Engineering Technology and was awarded a First Class Honours Degree in 1992.

It was at Tralee Community College that Paul met the love of his life, Kathleen Heffernan from Kilderry, Milltown, where Kathleen was teaching Irish and History. Teaching together at Tralee Community College for some 34 years until Paul retired in 2004, the couple made lasting friendships and strong positive impressions on many a student.

The couple settled in Liosdara, Tralee, and had four children, Niall, Emmet, Pamela and Ciara. They had a very happy home life and some of the family’s fondest memories include many summer picnics at Banna Beach, camping trips and of course football.

On the football field, once Paul stepped over the white line, it is said that he was as tough as any of his older brothers were before him, with Jimmy and Noel having won an All-Ireland Senior Medals with Kerry in 1962 and Vincent playing in an All Ireland Senior Football Final in 1965, narrowly losing out to Galway that year.

With Laune Rangers, they all enjoyed great success in the Mid Kerry Championship and Club Championships in the 1960s.

In 1967, Paul was selected to play for the Mid Kerry Divisional Team in the Senior Football County Championship that finally made the breakthrough, winning the County Championship that year.

In 1968, he captained the Kerry Junior Football team, winning the Munster Championship, but losing out to Tyrone in the All-Ireland Semi Final.

After a number of years working in Tralee and playing with Laune Rangers, Paul made the full time move to Tralee in 1974 and joined Austin Stacks GAA Club on Rock Street, Tralee.

He became part of the great team that went on to win the 1975 and 1976 Senior Kerry County Championships and the All-Ireland Club Championship in 1977. Another County Championship medal with Stacks followed in 1979 before he made his last Senior Football Championship appearance with the Club in August 1981.

As he had always enjoyed being involved in coaching and training juvenile teams at school and with the club, he continued after his own playing days came to an end.

He managed the 1986 Austin Stacks County Championship winning team and then again was Manager in 1994 when Stacks brought another title home. He was delighted to be asked by the late Páidí Ó’Sé to be a selector with the Kerry Senior Football Team for the years 1998 and 1999.

Following Kathleen’s sudden passing in 2012, he was asked by Aidan O’Connor, Austin Stacks Chairman and newly appointed Senior Stacks Manager, Stephen Stack to get back involved as a selector with the new Stacks Management Team in 2013.

In deciding to do so, he got to know a whole new generation of young footballers and enjoyed a wonderful journey that saw the team win the Kerry County Championship (among other silverware) and go on to win the Munster Club Championship, only to be narrowly defeated by Slaughtneil in the All-Ireland Club Semi Final.

While he wasn’t involved in 2016 due to illness, following his recovery in 2017 the lure of the sideline was too strong for him to stay away for long and at Martin McGivern’s timely request, he became involved again as a selector with Austin Stacks, this time with the Stacks Senior Ladies Team.

He thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Ladies and got a great kick out of the girl’s enthusiasm and sense of fun. The Ladies Team won the County Intermediate Championship in 2017.

Described by many that knew him as a gentleman, he would always go out of his way to help a friend, a student, or talk quietly to a player on the field, treating everybody with the same level of respect, young or old.

The highest compliment Paul would give about somebody’s footballing ability would be that he or she was “a great bit of stuff ” or was “as tough as nails”!

Paul had a very strong faith and a particular devotion to St. Padre Pio. A creative man, Paul was interested in everything from gardening and painting to history. He possessed an inner strength and had a great sense of humour and fun. He will be missed by his many friends.

His family was deeply moved at the turnout for his removal and Funeral Mass and by the Guards of Honour from Austin Stacks G.A.A. Club, both Mens and Ladies Clubs, Laune Rangers G.A.A., the Mid-Kerry G.A.A. and his former teaching colleagues and would like to express their thanks and appreciation and for all the prayers and good wishes that he received when he was sick.

After a recurrence of his earlier illness for a period of only some seven short weeks, Paul received a “Cuireadh Na Nollag” from Kathleen and joined her in heaven three days before Christmas.

To quote a great friend and former colleague “Paul was a gift from God”.

He is survived by his children, Niall, Emmet, Pamela and Ciara, his brother Noel, daughter-in-law Dorren, son-in-law Ray, and grandchildren Kirsten, Seamus, Hannah Mai, Ellen, Jay, Kate and Tadhg.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.

The late Paul Lucey