Davy Nolan - a Mullingar Shamrocks and Westmeath great

The Mullingar Shamrocks members and executive extended their deepest sympathy to the family of the late Davy Nolan of St Brigid’s Terrace, Mullingar and Blanchardstown.

In particular sympathy was extended to Davy’s wife Dympna and his sons and daughters Geraldine, Deirdre, Kevin, Caitriona, Aoife and Colm. Sympathy is also extended to Davy’s grandchildren David, Luke, Daniel, Louise, Sam (an Irish Under-20 rugby international currently playing professionally in France), Fintan, Simon, Evan and Isobel, sons-in-law Niall, Marek and Liam, daughter-in-law Audrey, sister Kathleen, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family, friends and neighbours.

Davy Nolan was one of Mullingar Shamrocks greatest players in the late 1950s and 1960s. Davy was a key member of all the Mullingar Shamrocks title winning teams playing at wingback, winning Junior championship medals in 1962 and Senior medals in 1964 and 1966.

Davy, Frankie Connaughton and Kevin Higgins formed the half-back line on those two Senior title winning teams. In between winning Senior titles with Mullingar Shamrocks, Davy was a member of the UCD team that won the Dublin Senior football title in 1965. He was also an outstanding hurler and was a key member of the Pearses Senior title winning team of 1962 as well as their 1958 Junior title winning team.

Davy was also a dual inter-county player who represented Westmeath at all levels on numerous occasions, and was a regular on both Westmeath senior teams throughout the 1960s. Davy taught in St Brigid’s National School in Castleknock between 1969 and his retirement where he was Principal for close to 30 years.

Davy is remembered as ‘an absolute gentleman’, one of the great Mullingar Shamrocks team leaders during the great days of the 1960s who led by example and a peace maker in the manner of Paddy Cole when things got a bit difficult.

Davy’s brother Seán devoted his administrative talents to the club serving in several positions including Chairman (1975-77), Secretary (1978) and PRO.

Davy could recall with affection the Mullingar Street League tussles, with the finals in both codes invariably being contested by St Brigid's Terrace and Patrick Street. When he moved on to the Christian Brothers Secondary School, Davy looked up to stars like Frank O’Leary (a future Kerry player) and he was thrilled to win a Leinster Colleges SF 'B' medal.

He could rhyme off the names of his team mates – the legendary Mick Carley, Sean Carrigy, Johnny Moran (“a beautiful footballer”), Seamus Stokes, Mickey Naughton, Dessie Newman, Ollie Glynn, Pat Smyth, Tony Dalton, Vincent Fitzpatrick and 'Bull' Gavin in goals. “There were about five townies on the team”, he recalled, “with a half back line from around St Brigid's Terrace. It was a marvellous team; I think we could have done well in the 'A' competition”.

Davy played for two years on both the Westmeath minor hurling and football teams. He was a regular on both Westmeath senior teams throughout the 1960s. He could vividly recall the infamous 'Battle of Birr' in 1967, in an era when Westmeath hurlers were very much on a par with their Offaly counterparts. Barney Moylan from the Faithful County stands out in Davy’s mind as one of the best ever hurlers never to win major honours.

The same year brought one of the footballers’ most sensational championship victories when Dublin were defeated in Tullamore. Davy missed this match, having asked the selectors to allow him concentrate on his studies, but returned for the 0-6 to 0-12 reversal to eventual All-Ireland champions Meath, when he managed to keep fellow Gaelgeoir Mick Mellett scoreless. Dessie Dolan was a regular team mate of Davy’s at this time and the similarity between “D.Nolan” and “D.Dolan” meant Davy once got credit in the newspapers for scoring a goal which had actually been brilliantly despatched to the net by the Athlone man!

Davy felt it was almost impossible for a dual player to be proficient at both. “I often thought I should have been one or the other”.

He reflected modestly: “I don’t think I was a fantastic hurler, but I could run like hell forever.”

He played with two other outstanding dual stars in the maroon and white – Pat Bradley (“who had skills then that very few hurlers could match”) and Mickey Fagan. Another fine exponent of the big and small ball games he admired was Roscommon’s Gerry O’Malley (“a gentleman”).

Within the Lake County, hurlers who impressed him include Pete Loughlin, John McKay, Pat and Ger Jackson, Jimmy Rooney, Tommy Ring, Jim and Mickey Carey, the “Jobber”, Jack Power and Paddy McCabe. He was a big fan of Galway’s footballing “Terrible Twins”, Sean Purcell and Frank Stockwell.

Davy reposed at Cunningham’s Funeral Home, Church Ave, Blanchardstown on Monday evening (12 October). Removal on Tuesday morning (13 October) to St Brigid's Church, Blanchardstown arriving for Funeral Mass at 10.00am followed by burial in Kellystown Cemetery, Clonsilla. As a mark of respect, a minute's silence was observed at Sunday's Westmeath SFC final in TEG Cusack Park.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a Anam

(Thanks to Gerry Buckley and Dr Tom Hunt for the details in this obituary)