Joe in his McNally Swords CC kit with fellow club members (left to right) Kevin Morrison, Dr Conor McGrane and Brian Linehan, on the far right.
By Brian Canty
Irish cycling is this week mourning the death of a popular servant following the untimely passing of Joe McNally.
The 57-year-old from Lusk, Co Dublin, died on Sunday morning following a brave battle with cancer.
He is survived by his wife Breda and four children, Bernadette, Joey, Jacqueline and Grace as well as grandchildren and a wide circle of relatives of friends.
Joe’s son-in-law is world scratch champion Martyn Irvine.
His passing comes as a dreadful blow to the club that bore his name - McNally Swords CC – which he supported and was an active member of for so many years. The financial backing of the north Dublin club came from Joe’s successful joinery business.
Advertisement
Fellow member Dr Conor McGrane said he was the backbone of the club.
“Joe was always involved, he raced until recently and he sponsored the club a huge amount,” said Dr McGrane.
“He basically ran the club league in the summer up until last year before he became ill. He organised the handicaps, the marshalling, sign-on, lead car, placings; everything.”
Related News
“He was always there and everything was always ship shape with him. His loss is immeasurable to McNally Swords CC.”
Dr McGrane said Joe was also keen to see the club develop and to maintain a constant flow of new members.
“He was really welcoming to everyone who joined the club. He was a very positive and just a lovely friendly guy, and a really good cyclist as well actually. He was very determined. He played a mean guitar too.”
“To McNally Swords CC he was the glue that kept the club together and he effectively kept the club going for the last 15-20 years. He did anything and everything with the club and helped out in any way he could.”
“It will be hard to replace a man like him. We ran a club league every Wednesday and every single Wednesday he was there without fail. Everyone knows the club as McNally Swords CC and always will know it as that, it wasn’t just Swords.”
“He gave the club its identity you could say. He brought it from being a small niche club to being one of the biggest in Ireland and his family and friends should be very proud of what he did.”
“Away from the bike he gave a lot a people in the area work and the business continues to do that. He had a huge heart and he’ll be sorely missed.”
From everyone here at stickybottle, we would like to extend our condolences to Joe’s wife Breda at this very sad time and to his children and extended family, club mates and friends of which he had many.
Ar dhéis Dé go raibh ar anam.
Funeral arrangements
Removal from his home tomorrow morning, Thursday, to St MacCullin's Church in Lusk for 11am Mass, followed by funeral at adjoining cemetery.
Topics
