Death of a true blue - Johnny Gallagher 1946-2007 RIP

June 28, 2007

By Chris McNulty (Donegal News)

FINN Harps Football Club lost one of its most passionate supporters this week with the sad passing of Johnny Gallagher (60), who lost a long battle with illness at his home at 17 McNeely Villas, Letterkenny in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A stalwart at Finn Park for many years, the large gathering of players past and present, supporters and club officials at this morning's funeral outlined the esteem in which Johnny was held.

Johnny had been following Harps from the very beginning and served well over 20 years on the Board of Directors. He was Club President for a time (in the 1992/93 season) and was a trojan fundraiser over the years as well as being one of the leading figures in the Letterkenny branch of the Supporters' Club.

His contribution to the Harps cause was marked last year when the Club made a special presentation to he and fellow Letterkenny native, Cllr. Victor Fisher for their efforts. In the early years, the pair ran a hugely successful bingo in The Golden Grill, which was a massive fundraiser for the club at the time.

Johnny missed only a handful of home games in his 38years supporting Harps and his good friend Victor was always at his side. In recent times, Johnny was still a regular at his beloved Finn Park, despite his ailing health and could be found watching on from the clubhouse.

Indeed it was noted this week that Johnny was looking forward to attending Tuesday night's game against Kildare. Sadly he never got a chance to attend the game, but Harps turned in a performance that Johnny was sure to be looking down on with pride along with all the other blues who have gone before him.

At this morning's funeral Mass, Fr.Gerard Cunningham spoke of the irony of the connection between Johnny and Victor Fisher. The story about the friendship between ‘The Fianna Fail Councillor and the Fine Gael activist' was recited - Johnny was a sterling supporter of former Dail Deputy Paddy Harte and the Fine Gael party.

Outside of Harps, Johnny and his wife Veronica (nee Burke) from Veagh, Manorcunningham, were heavily involved in the Letterkenny Schoolboys Football Association, having been approached by Dessie Kelly to take an interest in 1976.

Johnny and Veronica looked after underage teams from Oldtown in the seventies and eighties. Kind, generous and caring, the couple opened up their house every Saturday afternoon for the home games on the pitch out the back of the estate. For years, it was commonplace for the team to tog out in the kitchen and to retire to the sitting room after the match was played. There, they were served up a welcome cup of tea and biscuits.

Back in April, former players organised a reunion game for Johnny at Ballyare and the huge turnout reflected just how highly he was thought of. At a function afterwards in the Ramada Hotel, glowing tributes were paid to both Johnny and Veronica for the time they had invested in the young people of the Oldtown area. In Johnny's own words, it was the best day of his life.

Johnny was also a life-long supporter of Glasgow Celtic and was a founder member of the Letterkenny Celtic Supporters Club while he will also be remembered for his work with the Letterkenny Reunion Committee.

He was a native of Sallaghagrane and worked over the years as a mechanic for the Lough Swilly Railway, a taxi driver for the late Hughie McGovern, a driver for Gaeltex and a painter and decorator.

He also worked in Scotland for a number of years before he got married to Veronica. The couple would have been celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this month.

Johnny was also the main organiser of the highly successful annual weekend bus trip to Glasgow in recent years. The bus trip was always a highlight of the year for many of the townspeople.

This morning, Thursday, a large congregation packed into St Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny to pay their respects to a caring gentleman that was always on the lookout for people and always on hand to offer words of advice.

After 10am Requiem Mass at The Cathedral, Johnny was laid to rest in Conwal Cemetery.

Having been predeceased by his sister Brid McGettigan (Woodtown, Ramelton), Johnny is survived by his loving wife Veronica, brother Thomas (Ballybofey), sister Collette McDonagh (Letterkenny), sister in law Rosaleen, nephews, nieces and a large family circle.

To them, we extend our sincere sympathies.

Ar dheis De go raibh a h-anam.

The late Johnny Gallagher (left), who was then a director, pictured with player Eddie Seydak, manager Eunan 'Busty' Blake and Cathal Murray (sponsor) prior to pre-season training in 1981.