by Dionne Meehan
Members, coaches and players from St. Eunan’s GAA club said a final goodbye to one of their own as the funeral took place today of popular Letterkenny man Aidan McGlynn.
Aidan passed away peacefully at Letterkenny University Hospital on Thursday, September 5, following an illness.
An important member of the management backroom team for a number of club sides over several seasons at St. Eunan’s, Aidan was given a wonderful send-off by the club today as his former clubmates formed a guard of honour. The funeral cortege also stopped briefly in the grounds of O’Donnell Park before making their way to the nearby Conwal Cemetery for burial, flanked along the way by members of the St. Eunan’s senior squad.
Earlier at the funeral Mass in St. Eunan’s Cathedral, chief celebrant Monsignor Kevin Gillespie said Aidan, despite his illness, had been able to attend matches up until a fortnight ago.
“Never one for the limelight, he was so well-known and so deeply respected in the backroom support that directed the talents and energies of so many generations of players, first the minors and then the senior team,” he said.
“I suppose that Aidan, along with Gareth (Aidan’s brother), are the ones you always are half aware of on the side-lines and then totally attentive to as they reveal what you know yourself in your heart about wides and passes and possession.
“Their sharp eyes and overall view helps to channel all that talent, all the hours of training, so that pitched against equal teams, that players can stretch that bit further that makes all the difference,” he said.
Mr McGlynn’s parents, Bernadette and Peter, always encouraged Aidan, and Mgr Gillespie added that he was mad about his nieces and nephews.
“He was great with children and young people,” Mgr Gillespie said.
Aidan, mourners were told, carried his illness with dignity and courage. His wife, Cathy, reflected on how hard it must have been for him, having run marathons from a young age with the athletics club.
“She wrote, ‘the small things we take for granted, were taken away from him, but yet, he continued to be positive, which must have been very hard for him’,” Monsignor Gillespie said on her behalf.
Cathy had a deep love for her husband.
“She suffered for his suffering and the strength of their relationship is very clear,” Monsignor Gillespie said.
“Aidan made it so easy to be around him, in health as in illness.
“He was easy to be around, in sport he felt alive and he loved everything that came with it in terms of heartfelt decency, commitment, achievement and honour,” he concluded.
Following Mr McGlynn’s sad passing, St Eunan’s GAA club, in a post on social media, paid their own tribute to their “much-loved” friend.
“From his young days in Rockhill when he played in the Streets Leagues for Oldtown/Main St his love for St Eunan’s never wavered.
“Aidan, along with his brother, Gareth, never missed a game, be it underage or the Senior Team, he was always supportive and always loyal.
“In recent years, Aidan was a vital part of the backroom team for various Senior team managers and played a key role in our many successes.
“Never one for the limelight, Aidan quietly went about his business and was loved by all the players who appreciated all he did for the team.
“We are heartbroken for Aidan’s wife Cathy, his parents, his brothers and sisters and his many friends.
“Aidan fought his illness with courage and dignity to the end.
“There was a tear in Aidan’s eye as he left after the recent Championship game against Gweedore as he maybe knew he’d watched his last game in O’Donnell Park.
“May God bless you wee man and may your gentle soul rest in peace.”
Aidan is survived by his loving wife Kathy (née McHugh), his parents Peter and Bernadette, sister Shauna, brothers Gareth and Brendan (Pam), nieces Eimear, Leah, Lauren and Molly, aunts, uncles, cousins, his parents-in-law, Helen and Willie Joe, brothers-in-law, Gary and Stephen, and all the extended family.
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