Jim Conway was a long-serving treasurer of his beloved Mullinavat GAA club

Jim Conway, who died recently, was renowned for his service to Mullinavat GAA club.
Jim had the longest association of perhaps any GAA official in any club in Ireland as treasurer of Mullinavat GAA for over 50 years. Think about that for a second - 50 years! His likes will never be seen again.

Getting involved in the officialdom of local GAA affairs was due to a sporting injury which ultimately cut short his playing career in the early 1970s. But Jim was not dispirited and turned his attention to administrating at Mullinavat GAA club.

Among his many duties were taking care of the hurling field and associated site, the difficult work of securing All-Ireland tickets for club members and indeed for any parishioner that needed them.

As many used to comment, ‘how was it done?’. But undeterred from the task at hand, Jim travelled to Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park. He knew the officials there and had a special bond with them. If anyone could work their magic and get their hands on a few extra tickets, it was Jim. He was often known to work on sourcing tickets into the small hours of a Saturday night before a game before getting these to supporters in time for their morning departure to Dublin.

Quite a feat - but that was Jim Conway. His gentlemanly presence there for all to see and witness in his work on the field there in Mullinavat, facilitating clubs from the south and other places to play on what was generally accepted as one of the best natural sods to play Gaelic games around.

Jim was part of a select group of people in that he reached out in times past to encourage camogie for girls of the parish. He loved seeing them compete and avail of the pitches and to see people play Gaelic football. He was a reliable and very able umpire at a lot of games and attended southern and County Board meetings, facilitating many clubs when seeking permission to play in Mullinavat.

In his playing career, Jim plied his trade in the backs and ended in the forwards for the Mullinavat team. In a period of time from his primary school hurling until his mid 30s Jim loved playing hurling.

While the GAA was a major part of his life, Jim had many other loves. Farming, following the local hunt and hounds and playing badminton competitively with the local club was how Jim passed his time.

Jim was honoured by former President of Ireland-Mary McAleese and her husband Martin at the Aras some years ago for his contribution to the GAA at local and county level. Jim took his sister Margaret to the function.

All of his family, his siblings Ned, Tom and Owen and Kathleen were very good to him. He had looked after his mother Kathleen Conway, a member of the Dempsey family in Ballintarsney, from the time her husband Tom died in 1976 to her passing some years ago at an advanced age. His family knew how both of them got on so well and how great and good he was to her over many decades.

Getting back to the GAA. He was of course entrusted with the maintenance of ‘the field’ in Mullinavat. He was an ever-present in the summer months with his mower and red Zetor tractor, which came from his family farm and was kept in pristine condition.

Jim was a strategist. He used to put away three different acres for the growing of potatoes each year. This was special to him and also the selling of them that came from summer right into winter time.

Jim loved the local hunt and the Kilkenny Hunt. He knew them all. He loved following them in his car, traveling miles and waiting until the final ‘blow for home’. This was performed by PJ Aylward, who repeated the role as Jim’s coffin was lowered into the family plot in St Beacon’s Cemetery.

On Jim’s final journey, a pair of hunting horses and guards of honour drawn from the many GAA units of the parish and county as well as the badminton club led the cortege on its final few hundred yards through the village of his beloved Mullinavat.

Testimonials of his work came from GAA officials and also from star camogie players at local and county level. They all knew the work that the late Jim had done for them. A packed congregation in St Beacon’s Church heard lovely tributes from Fr Liam Barron and his brother Owen. They both gave glimpses of Jim’s life and the decency of the person, his lifelong attachment to the church, his availability to help anyone that needed it.

Some funny ones really stood out. One that was told was ‘in Gaelic games that had the rough and tumble and cut and thrust of rival teams and parishes doing battle, Jim’s theory as goal umpire was that if the sliotar ended up in the net, 99% of the time it is a goal’, regardless of any infringements going on at the time!

Jim is survived by his brothers Ned, Tom and Owen; sister Margaret Ryan and Kathleen Doherty; nephews and nieces; the extended Conway family, his sisters-in-law Eileen, Mary and Anne. He was given a great and respectful send off from the great GAA community, his hunting friends and those from the local badminton club.
Jim will never be forgotten. Ar dheis de ar a anam dilis
- SM