Sadness at the passing of Gerard Callaghan, Mr Inishowen GAA

Sadness has been expressed in Burt and across Inishowen today as people learned of the passing of Gerard Callaghan,

Mr Callaghan, originally from Bridgend but who lived at Whitehouse in Derry with his wife Kathleen, was a former employee of The Inish Times newspaper, now a member of the Iconic Group.

Well known in GAA circles where he was a former chairman of the Burt GAA club and a long-serving officer with the Inishowen GAA Board, he passed away in hospital overnight on Friday after a short illness.

Predeceased by his parents Willie and Margaret Callaghan from Bridgend, he is survived by his wife Kathleen, brother Kevin, and sisters Ita and Helena.

Funeral details have yet to be announced, but football championship matches across Donegal today will be preceded by a moment’s silence as a mark of respect and to remember the years of selfless work that Gerard carried out for the GAA in the county.

The Burt GAA club posted the following tribute to Gerard Gallaghan on its social media accounts.

The late Gerard Callaghan

Hailing from the border village of Bridgend, Gerard was a well-known face from his time working behind the counter in Bertie O’Neill’s shop. While always interested in Gaelic games, Gerard’s early sporting participation was in soccer where refereed for many years at junior level .

Gerard’s involvement in GAA administration began with his home club, Burt GAA, in the years after Donegal’s maiden All-Ireland win in 1992.

He first served as assistant treasurer before progressing to Cathaoirleach in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His tenure as chairperson coincided with a period of significant progress for the club. This including the acquisition of land for a second pitch, publication of the McNamee Award winning club history Against The Grain, and the senior footballers winning promotion to the Donegal senior football championship.

He was chair during Burt’s 16-in-a-row Donegal hurling championship run, including the highwater point in 2001 when we won the Ulster Hurling Shield and he was particularly proud when Burt reached the Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship semi-final that year, all the more so given that the match was played in Casement Park, in his wife’s Kathleen’s native city of Belfast.

After completing his club role, Gerard redirected his considerable energy, experience, and administrative acumen to the Inishowen GAA Board, where he served continuously - whether as chairperson, secretary, or PRO - for more than a quarter of a century.

A stalwart of the regional board, he helped coordinate hundreds of games annually, ensuring opportunities for players from U8 to U18 and beyond.

When Gerard first joined the Inishowen Board, under-age football in Donegal was still structured across the county’s five old baronies, which also included the East, North West, South West and South.

Following re-organisation, Inishowen now stands alone as the last of these historic divisional boards still in operation, a testament in no small part to Gerard’s determination to uphold the region’s local identity and traditions.

Under his stewardship, the Inishowen Regional Finals - which date back to the 1970s - have taken on renewed prominence and significance, with the introduction of commemorative cups honouring deceased Gaels. These finals, fiercely contested yet deeply respectful community occasions, have become competitions worth winning and cherished moments for families and clubs alike.

Owing both to its size - encompassing eight clubs: An Bheart, Bun a’Phobail, Bun Cranncha, Carn Domhnach, Iorras, Malainn, Naomh Colmcille and Naomh Pádraig Uisce Chaoin - and Gerard’s organisational talents, the Inishowen Board has been able to pioneer a wide range of innovative initiatives.

Even before Go Games were introduced nationally, Inishowen was ahead of the curve and already delivering U10 competitions.

Under Gerard’s leadership, the region quickly embraced the opportunities presented by small-sided, non-competitive Go Games, resulting in exceptionally well-run blitzes at U7, U8, U9, U10 and U11 levels. These provide meaningful, enjoyable footballing experiences for hundreds of young players across the peninsula each summer. And even in the days before his sudden death, he was busying himself with organising fixtures across various grades.

Gerard also played a key role in establishing an innovative coaching scheme, delivered through a partnership between the Inishowen Board, local clubs, primary schools, and the Department of Education’s School Completion Programme. This initiative saw the recruitment of coaches to work in local schools, helping children develop fundamental movement skills within a Gaelic Games context.

His administrative leadership was again to the fore in the 2010s when the Inishowen Board secured permission from Ulster Colleges to enter Coláistí Inis Eoghain, a combined team drawn from the region’s secondary schools, into the province’s premier post-primary competitions. While individual Inishowen schools had struggled to make progress in Ulster Vocational Schools football competitions, the combined team flourished.

The pinnacle of this endeavour came in 2014: not only did Coláistí Inis Eoghain reach the Mac Larnon Cup final (Division 2 Ulster Colleges football), but in September of that year, five Inishowen players - each shaped by their Colleges football experience - took to the field in Donegal’s one and only All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final appearance, while Darach O’Connor started in that All-Ireland Senior final.

This represented an unprecedented and deeply significant level of Inishowen representation on the intercounty stage. Current senior intercounty footballers Caolan McGonagle, Conor O’Donnell and Caolan McColgan played with the amalgamated schools’ team in their formative teenage years.

The Coláistí Inis Eoghain football initiative ended just before covid and has not resumed since. However, a new combined schools Coláistí Inis Eoghain hurling team is being set up to play in Ulster Schools competition over the winter months, something that would no doubt give Gerard much pleasure – although he will be wondering how it came about and why he wasn’t in on it!

In recent years, Gerard continued to champion youth participation through the development of the Inishowen Primary Schools Skills Competition, bringing players from 30 schools to Malin each spring for an evening centred on fun, inclusivity, and friendly contest.

Beyond formal administration, Gerard’s passion for the GAA is perhaps most visible in his prolific use of social media. Through his Facebook page, he shared stories, updates, and moments of GAA interest that are appreciated not only locally but also by the Inishowen diaspora worldwide. His online presence became an important resource in connecting people and places.

In addition to his GAA posts, he also posted extensively on the Cónaitheoirí Bheart (Burt residents) Facebook page, publishing countless old photographs that connected members of the Burt diaspora far and wide.

After his many years in Bertie O’Neill’s, Gerard took up an administrative position with the Inish Times newspaper in Buncrana, which was founded by his younger brother Kevin in 1999.

More recently, he worked for the Harcourt and Moress accountancy firms in Derry.

He was inseparable from his wife of many years Kathleen: where you saw Gerard you also saw Kathleen.

He was diagnosed with cancer in recent times, and underwent treatment with the most concluding earlier this year. He bore his illness stoically, complained little and continued to live as he always had done. Earlier this week he was organising underage fixtures here Inishowen.

Ní bheidh a leitheid ann aris.

Deepest sympathy is extended to Gerard’s wife Kathleen, his brother Kevin, sisters Ita and Helena, and the wider Callaghan clan.