Paddy Murphy - an appreciation from Mullingar Town FC

Mullingar Town Football Club along with other sporting organisations in Mullingar were saddened to hear the sad news of the death of Paddy Murphy.

Paddy, who passed away last Friday, has been involved with Mullingar Town since the mid 1970s. He worked along side people like Paddy Rylands, Frank McCabe, John Gallagher, Paddy Colgan, Martin Moore, Tom O'Connor, Jimmy Tighe, Brendan Tarleton, George Evans, Sean Lynch, Frank Byrne, Pat Whaley, Jimmy Dowd and others.

Paddy served as chairman and later as secretary during the 1990s and for the last 20 years up to the present day, Paddy was treasurer of the club.

Paddy along, with others, oversaw the development of D'Alton Park pitch in 1991 and the re-opening of D'Alton Park in August 1992. Paddy set up the FÁS schemes for local clubs alongside Tom McCormack, who was the head of FÁS in Mullingar in the mid 1990s.

Paddy was also involved in the setting up of the Combined Counties Football League in 2005 alongside Chris Hand, Jimmy Kelly, Frank O'Connell, Karl Bond, Willie Healy and Dom Keating.

Paddy was a great supporter of the Irish soccer team and he went on a one-way trip with the late John Gallagher in 1975 when Ireland played the former Soviet Union in Kiev, then behind the Iron Curtain.

Paddy also had a great love for the sport of tennis and was very much involved with Mullingar Tennis Club.

He was delighted to see Mullingar Town doing so well this season and he looked out for the results each weekend up until his final days. He was also delighted to see Jacko McNamee, Mark Brady, Ray Geoghegan, Áine Carr and Audrey McNamee doing great work for Mullingar Town over the last few years and he knew Mullingar Town would be in good hands going into the future.

All at Mullingar Town AFC past and present would like to offer our sincere condolences to the Murphy family at this sad time.

May Paddy rest in heavenly peace.

(Martin Moore, chairman, Mullingar Town AFC)