Sadness at the passing of St Michael’s club ‘mainstay’  Brian McGinley

A great sadness hangs over St Michael’s GAA club and the greater Donegal GAA community  this week with the sad passing of  Brian McGinley.

The late Brian McGinley or Wee Brian as he was better known among colleagues and friends died on Saturday night, in University Hospital, Galway after a short illness.

 He was 81 and joint president along with his lifelong friend Mick McColgan.

Brian was a quiet and loyal St Michael’s clubman who served the club in many roles for all  of his life.

 He played football for the club as a young boy and well into his adulthood.    

“I always say Brian was the ‘mainstay’ of the club down the years,” said Mick McColgan.

“While many others emigrated over the years or moved to other parts of the country Brian was ever present. He kept the club going through good years and lean years and made sure the light never went out. 

“He was club treasurer for over 40 years and he always made sure the club was in the black at the end of the year. I don’t how he did it because there were times when money was scarce and hard to raise. 

“It may have been only a couple of pounds but he always made sure it was always in the black. 

“He was a GAA man to the core and took a great interest in underage football and he was among a small group of us that purchased the land down at the Bridge which is now the club playing grounds. 

“It cost £11,000 which was a lot of money at the time, in the late 1960s.” 

The late Brian McGinley played football for the club for the best part of two decades and was a classy and an elusive forward mostly at wing half forward and corner forward.

He did not enjoy much in the line of success on the field other than a couple of Donegal Junior Gaeltacht championships.  

He played in two Donegal junior championship finals in 1969 and 1971 and  was on the losing side in both to Ranafast, in ‘69 and Kilcar, in ‘71.

However it is widely claimed at the Bridge only for his enforced withdrawal from the ‘71 final with a broken collar bone, St Michael’s would have gone on to beat Kilcar, in ‘the ‘71 decider. 

Unfortunately, Brian had hung up his boots when St Michael’s won their breakthrough championship, in 1983.

He also served for years on the old Northern Division board and was a well respected treasurer of the board for over 40 years. 

He was also an avid Donegal follower and rarely missed a county game either home or away up until recent years when failing health intervened. 

An electrician by trade he is predeceased by his late son Patrick and brother John and is survived by  his wife Bried; his daughters Teresa, Sally sons Danny,Bernard and Shaun and brother Neil, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, his brother Neil, nieces and nephews. 

His remains are reposing at the family home on Main Street, Dunfanaghy and his funeral takes place on Wednesday (June 16)  at 12 noon in Holy Cross Church, Dunfanaghy, followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery. 

Brian McGinley was a great St Michael’s man and a gentleman to the core and he will sadly missed by all who had the pleasure to know him. A true Gael! 

Ar dhéis Dé ar a anam.