Lar Foley:In the golden jubilee history of the St Vincent's GAA club a reference is made to the prowess of Lar Foley, who figured in defence on the Dublin senior hurling team which failed by one point to Tipperary in the 1961 All-Ireland final.
In the golden jubilee history of the St Vincent's GAA club a reference is made to the prowess of Lar Foley, who figured in defence on the Dublin senior hurling team which failed by one point to Tipperary in the 1961 All-Ireland final: "At left- back Lar Foley, better known as an outstanding footballer, played the game of hurling in a very personalised way. His incredible strength and determination can only be described as Lord Byron described the Mafra Palace in Portugal as having magnificence without elegance."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, described Foley as a man of immense talent who loved his sport. "It is not only the St Vincent's and Dublin followers who will share in the loss but all Gaelic games people throughout the country. He was a great player, manager and supporter. Hurling and football have been enriched by his involvement," he said.
Just a few of the many tributes paid to the passing of one of Dublin's favourite sons, Lar Foley, who died peacefully at his home in Malahide last weekend. Foley was a farmer, one of the best known in north County Dublin. He died at the age of 65, having enjoyed a full life of achievement both on and off the field of play.
He was a remarkable character, witty and yet uncompromising in his attitude towards Dublin and the games he loved.
Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin recalls meeting him a few weeks ago when they were appointed patrons to the Friends of Dublin Hurling Club. The conversation centred on Dublin's failure to win an All-Ireland senior hurling title since 1938:
"Then I touched a sore spot when I brought up Dublin's last senior All-Ireland appearance in 1961, in which Foley was dismissed for an infringement of the rules," Ó Ceallacháin remembers. "He thumped me on the chest and said: 'Jasus, everybody brings that up. You were on the 1948 All-Ireland team against Waterford and ye got hammered. At least we lost only by a point to Tipperary in 1961, and they were lucky to win that one', he said, with a big grin."
Lar continued: "Look at that Tipperary team and the big names, Tony Wall, John Doyle, Liam Devaney, Jimmy Doyle just to mention a few . . . they were class, real classy hurlers and didn't we do well holding them until they got the winning point from Devaney."
Foley and his brother, Des, became immortalised Dubs during their periods of ascendancy wearing the county strip, all the more so because of their widely acclaimed status as dual performers. Lar Foley won successive All-Ireland minor football titles with Dublin in 1955-56.
He quickly climbed up the senior ladder and figured on the St Vincent's team, with Des Foley, perhaps the greatest club team ever in GAA history.
The club lost out to Erin's Hope in the 1956 Dublin senior football championship decider, but Lar Foley went on to win an incredible total of 12 senior county football medals during 1957-62, '64, '66, '67 and 1970-72, . . . not to forget senior hurling championship titles in '57, '60, '62 and '64.
There were three other Foley brothers who did not attain the prominence so well earned by the illustrious Lar and Des.
They were Martin, Anthony and Fran, the latter pair also played with St Vincent's and played soccer with Malahide. Lar Foley's passion for hurling and football outweighed any thoughts of him playing the other code even though his ability to adapt to it could not have been questioned.
Big in stature with a heart of gold, he was a very proud man. He never suffered fools kindly and was a master of the put-down. Foley quickly gained senior status and was chosen on the Dublin football team which beat Derry in the 1958 All-Ireland final. He played at right corner back. He added a second senior football title to his list when Dublin beat Galway in the 1963 final - the team was captained by his brother, Des.
There were further awards for the Foleys when they picked up Railway Cup medals in hurling and football with Leinster. Lar Foley's success as a club hurling manager received a massive boost when he was appointed manager of the Dublin senior hurling team, a position he held for four years, 1989-93. During that spell he brought Dublin to successive Leinster finals. They lost to Offaly by five points in 1990 and to Kilkenny by two points a year later.
Both Lar and Des Foley were renowned clay pigeon shooters who won a string of honours representing Ireland in major international competitions.
One of his closest friends, Noel Rooney, paid a telling tribute to him in a letter he read out at Foley's Requiem Mass earlier this week:
"Lar, you and political correctness might seem strange bedfellows, but when it came to the English language and its use you never discriminated, whether you were talking to a bishop, a taoiseach, a truck driver or somebody's mother, your sentences always seemed to contain that flowery, colourful language and those unique turns of phrase which were obviously self- taught . . .
"As recently as last week I heard that you offered to change the nappy of your two-year-old grandson, Liam, and apparently his response was 'you're not changing my eppin nappy, grandad.' Well, I believe you were so proud and chuffed that your linguist tradition has been handed down to a new generation of Foleys." The huge numbers who filed by his remains and attended his final journey bear testimony to the fact he will remain long in popular memory.
He is survived by his wife Jo, sons Liam, Johnny and Pat, and daughters, Denise, Lorraine and Barbara.
Lar Foley: born November 23rd, 1938; died May 4th, 2003.