Congratulations to Dan on receiving a well-deserved award recently from the East Board Old Time Gaels in appreciation of his lifelong service and dedication to the GAA.
On the playing field, Dan competed in all underage grades in both hurling and football. His first major success was when he played as corner back on the U14 hurling team that won the East championship in 1968. He went on to play on the Ahane minor hurling team that won the Minor Championship in 1971. As a sign of his versatility, he also was corner back on the football team that won the championship in that same year. As a very young player he played U21 Championship hurling and football in 1971, 1972 and 1973. He was called for County U21 trials but cattle and farming prevented him from being an all-star! In adult codes, he won an East Junior Hurling league at number 4 against Ballybricken in 1975. In fact 1975 was a great year for Dan, he was a player on the hurling and football teams that won the East U21 championships.
Eddy Wade had the very great pleasure of presenting the East Junior League to Ahane when they defeated South Liberties in 1976. Dan went on to represent Ahane in both Senior Hurling and Football, always playing in the full back line.
He loved corner forwards and suggested that they tasted better, slightly under cooked and with salt and pepper. The Ahane selectors of that time were convinced that he would get a nose bleed if he ever strayed more than 30 metres from the end line (into the half back line.)
During his playing career and afterwards, Dan was involved in the administration of the Club, being very much involved with their under-age structure. He became the dread of every person who owned a car, they were immediately conscripted into driving under age teams throughout East Limerick. Philip and Tommy Byrnes, PJ Reilly, Sean and Peggy McCabe were among his many victims. The ESB also were the generous suppliers of transport ( they didn't know it at the time) Many full panels arrived at matches courtesy of the ESB yellow pickup. The team were told to "duck down" whenever there was another ESB car in the vicinity!
Dan became East Bord Na nOg secretary and was the first to produce a master fixture list that actually worked. At that time Ahane were like nomads, we had neither pitch, dressing rooms or clubhouse. Dan became secretary of a very vigorous Ahane Senior Committee whose efforts culminated in the acquisition of the pitch in Newgarden that became our headquarters. Dan and other on the committee of that era, worked effortlessly to develop the pitch that is now Mackey Park.
A very noteworthy thing from Dan’s tenure as Secretary was his minute taking ability, it was imaginative, factual and very often rivalled the great works of fiction of the literature world. There were occasions when the minutes were fairly factual, then you know that Mary had written them for him!
Dan also exhibited a cultural and artistic temperament, he was deeply involved in Scor Na nOg and indeed played the tin whistle. Some say he was as good as Paddy Moloney of the The Chieftains, but Paddy didn't have the same commitment to farming as Dan.
