ÓMÓS: Paul Clancy

7 September 1976 – 22 June 2026

When someone dies in a community, the effect is not unlike a stone being dropped into the middle of a pond; the ripples spread out from the centre to reflect the grief and sadness that mark someone’s passing. The better- known someone is, the wider the ripple effect. The GAA at a local and a national level is a community; being a two-time All-Ireland winner ensures a profile on the national stage. On Monday 22 June last, Paul Clancy left this world after a brave battle. He was only 49 years of age. To say that the ripples spread far and wide after his passing does not do the man justice; it was more like a tsunami across not just the local Moycullen area, but across the entire country and beyond. WhatsApp groups and messaging apps were on fire with news of Paul’s passing, and social media went into overdrive as tributes and clips of his heroic deeds on the football fields of Galway and beyond were shared. Past players, both teammates and rivals, were effusive in their praise. But the tributes were not just confined to sport. President Connolly led the tributes and Helen Ogbu, the Mayor of Galway, opened a book of condolences. The local, provincial and national papers all ran articles paying tribute. The GAA community has its rivalries, but when someone passes, rivalries are parked, and the community comes together. This was certainly true in this instance; papers in Mayo, Roscommon, Westmeath, Meath and the national papers were filled with articles singing Paul’s praises.

Paul was first and foremost a proud and loving family man, one who will be forever missed by his loving wife Johanna, his children Ellen and Finn (of whom he was immensely proud), his mother Mary, sisters Ailish and Linda, brother Gearoid, brother-in-law Gareth and Johanna’s parents, Deirdre and Brian Fahy. That love of family was so ably demonstrated just ten months prior to his passing when he delivered a stirring eulogy at the funeral of his brother-in-law and friend Don Connellan. Little did we think at that time that soon Paul’s wife Johanna would deliver an equally stirring eulogy to her teammate and husband.

Paul had many nicknames: Clance, Plank, and PC (the PC certainly didn’t stand for politically correct). Paul was blessed with a wonderful and sometimes wicked sense of humour; he could level you with a one- liner. Colin Sheridan, his friend and a journalist, wrote as much in one of the stand-out tributes to Paul in the Irish Examiner titled “If love alone could keep a man alive, Paul Clancy would’ve lived forever”. Knowing Colin was a Mayo man, Paul when speaking about his All-Ireland triumphs said “Sure, what is it only a game of football, …. charming you with his humility before winking that he’d show you the medals later if you wanted”. Behind this charm and self-deprecation was a man who worked hard, honing his skills. This work ethic served him well on the sports fields, but it surfaced in his professional life with the ESB too. Paul joined the ESB in 1994, rising to the role of senior manager. This evolution was built on hard work, completing degrees at night while playing football and, after he retired from the playing fields, whilst coaching and managing teams at club and county level.

Paul Clancy was a proud Galway man who loved where he came from; Moycullen was the club that shaped him; but Drumaveg was the place he loved most, the rugged beauty of the landscape, the farm animals, the nature of the place. There must be something about Drumaveg that produces good footballers. The Kelly family produced generations of them; the Lydons were notable for their football abilities, and generations of the Clancy family were the backbone of our club. Paul’s dad, the late Padraig Clancy, played midfield for the club and captained the team that won Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta in 1971. Gearoid, Paul’s brother, was an exceptional talent. But when it came to Paul, he was phenomenal; he had the sweetest left foot any footballer could have. He honed those skills up in Drumaveg as a youngster. In a tribute to Paul on the Galway GAA website, they said of him: “He could pick out a pass; he’d put the ball down into your pocket.” Paul was never without a ball growing up; hours of practice developed the God-given talent he had. Arnold Palmer, the noted American golfer, is often credited with the saying, “The more I practice, the luckier I get”. Well, Paul practised up and down the hills of Drumaveg and on the pitch in Bailedotia, and it wasn’t luck that made him the player he was; it was practice.

Paul was part of what is often referred to as the greatest minor team to never win an All-Ireland in 1994. It was stuffed with talent; Tomas and Declan Meehan, Padraig Joyce, Derek Savage, John Divilly and Richie Fahy all went on to backbone the squads that would bridge a thirty-two-year gap to bring Sam Maguire back to Galway in 1998. Paul played his part in that final despite suffering injuries during the season. Paul would play a pivotal role with the Galway senior team of 1998 to 2001. In that period, they contested three All-Ireland finals, winning two. Paul might not have been the journalists’ favourite, but he was the man available after a turnover, the player to provide the killer pass.

The highlights reel of Paul’s football exploits would run to nearly the length of a feature film; such was his prowess. Selecting just three of these is and is not difficult; two of the standout moments were while playing for Galway, and one is while playing for his beloved Moycullen. In the 2000 final replay against Kerry, he played a tremendous ‘no-look’ pass over his shoulder to Deccy Meehan, who, without breaking stride, collected the ball and rifled it to the back of the net. A year later, in a round three qualifier against Armagh, Paul was on hand to take a pass from Michael Donnellan, 40 meters out from goal, in the 73rd minute. The ball sailed over the black spot, and Galway won 0-13 to 0-12. The final highlight was his two points against Annascaul for Moycullen in the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick in the 2008 All-Ireland Intermediate semi-final. We were trailing by a point as the game entered its final stages and Paul popped over two delicious points. One of the Annascaul selectors lamented later: “We had the game won, but we took our eye off Paul Clancy, an unforgivable error.” Weeks later, Moycullen would triumph over Fingal Ravens in Croke Park. This latter game may have been one of Paul’s own favourites as Gearoid, his brother, captained the side to victory before ascending the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the cup in one of the great days for the club.

Great players inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Players such as David Wynne, our current club captain, and many others from Moycullen followed in Paul’s footsteps, representing Galway with distinction over several years. In writing this article, I spoke to David. He said that while growing up, he idolised Paul: the way he played the game, the way he trained, his cockiness. But the thing that impressed David most was not Paul the player, but Paul the administrator. Paul served as club chairman from 2019 to 2023. David saw Paul’s ability to unite the “old Moycullen” with the “new blood” as the source of the recent club successes. This was clearly illustrated in 2022 when, after winning the Frank Fox Cup, Paul insisted the cup be brought to the clubhouse that evening. Paul addressed the large crowd assembled and spoke of the significance of the victory, how it was a victory for everyone in the parish. He encouraged the youth present to go ‘heads up, chests out in sport and in life.

Upon his retirement from playing, Paul became involved in management with considerable success. He was a selector under Justin McNulty with Laois, he managed the Garrycastle team in Westmeath, and he had a coaching role with the All-Ireland winning under- 21 Galway side in 2013. He also acted as a selector to the Galway senior team under Alan Mulholland. By 2017, he was managing Moycullen. He brought in his brother- in-law, Don Connellan, to help before relinquishing the reins in 2018. A year later, he took the chairman’s role. In an interview in 2024 in the run-up to that year’s All- Ireland final, Paul said: “In my own club, the chairman came up. It is like all jobs in the GAA that you get; if you don’t say no the first time, it is generally taken as a yes. So, I was in as chairman then for four years, and I was able to do that”.

That final phrase – “I was able to do thať” – says much about Paul. He possessed extraordinary talent and achieved what most footballers can only dream of, yet he never lost sight of the importance of service, family, friendship and community.

Paul Clancy’s legacy cannot be measured solely by medals, famous passes or match-winning scores. It lives in his family, in his friendships, in the players he inspired, in the teams he coached and in the club he helped to unite. It lives in Moycullen, in Drumaveg, throughout Galway and across the wider GAA community. The ripples of his life will continue to spread for generations.

Sean Gibbons
(This article was originally written for Moycullen Matters magazine)