FORMER county footballer Michael McGinley was fondly remembered for his devotion to faith, family and sport at his requiem Mass earlier today.
The Dunfanaghy native died peacefully at home in Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, in the loving care of his family on Sunday.
Best known for his sporting background, Mr McGinley was also the proud father of former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.
Requiem Mass took place early today in the Church of the Annunciation, Rathfarnham.
In his early years, Mr McGinley was a talented footballer who helped St Eunan’s College win the Rannafast Cup.
He later starred on Donegal’s Ulster Minor Championship team before going on to play at senior level.
His football career was interrupted when he joined the Merchant Navy.
During that time, he met Julia.
They married, settled in Rathfarnham, and lived in the same house for 58 years.
Throughout his life he also enjoyed a successful business career, founding the telecommunications company Sigma Wireless.
At Mass, the congregation heard that one of Mr McGinley’s proudest moments was when his son Paul won the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
In a touching tribute, Paul described his father as the leader of their family.
“Leaders in sport, as well as dads in families, are fundamentally the same, though the arenas are different,” Paul began.
“First and foremost, choose your partner and he certainly did that with mum.
“They don’t dominate; they create space.
“They read rooms before giving advice and moods before speaking.
“They have a body language of calm authority, aware that people are humans first, and team members with skillsets second.”
Paul told the congregation that, above all, his father valued emotional intelligence, what he always called the old-fashioned ‘cop on’.
“You see, great leaders are not always visible in the moment, but their impact lasts forever,” Paul concluded.
Mr McGinley was also remembered by his son, Michael.
“If somebody asked me, ‘what was your dad like?’ My response would be ‘I can’t believe you don’t know him’,” Michael began.
“From a very young age he was empowering in getting us to be independent in making our own decisions, he wanted us all to be our own individuals and true versions of ourselves.
“He was always encouraging and always inviting us to seek his advice, rather than giving it.
“I see now he loved watching us develop, he loved watching us getting it wrong and he loved watching how we recovered and the personalities that we were.”
Michael described his father as a man who was always giving.
“Mary summed it up minutes after he passed away, she said ‘dad, I’m happy for you’,” Michael continued.
“That was the love that she had and we all had for him, he had just nothing more to give us.
“It was his time.”
After Mass, burial took place in Kilmashogue Cemetery.
Mr McGinley was the beloved husband of the late Julia (née Sheridan) and loving father of Paul, Mary, Karen, Michael and Suzanne.
He will be sadly missed by his family and in-laws, his grandchildren, Niamh, Killian and Maia, Niall, James, Meabh and Michael, Sean, Luke and Liam, his sisters Marette and Kathleen, (predeceased by his brother Brian and sister Betty), sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.
