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Topic: John Moloney RIP
LimerickNomad (Power User)	Posted: 12-Oct-2006 18:17	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
LimerickNomad (Power User)	GAA Sudden death of John Moloney .... referee par excellence http://www.unison.ie/nenagh_guardian/stories.php3?ca=37&si=1703960&issue_id=14750 By Gerry Slevin News of the sudden passing on Friday at his home, Currane House, Bansha, of John Moloney was received throughout Tipperary and in the GAA world generally, with a deep sense of regret. As a man who refereed five All-Ireland senior football finals and one hurling decider between 1967 and 1975 along with innumerable games at all levels and in all provinces as well as in Britain and the United States throughout a career that spanned five decades, John's was a household name and a revered one at that. Following a reasonably successful playing career with the hurlers and footballers of his beloved Bansha (Galtee Rovers), John, like many another, found himself thrust into the role of referee by accident. The nominated referee failed to turn up for a West division minor football game in 1958 and John was persuaded to take the whistle. Who would have imagined that his acceptance would lead to the creation of one of the greatest and fairest referees in the history of the GAA? John took charge of several games at divisional level and was clearly making a big impression before Munster Council called on him for the first time in 1965 to take charge of a junior hurling match between Waterford and Limerick. 1967 saw him chosen to referee the Railway Cup football final between Ulster and Connacht and later that year his first All-Ireland final was the meeting of Cork and Meath in the football decider. He had now taken charge of the greatest football attraction in the land, though yet to be honoured with a Munster final. However, he would go on to be in charge of eight Kerry/Cork football finals. 1969 saw John back in Croke Park for the Kerry/Offaly senior football final. In 1972 he refereed the All-Ireland minor hurling final between Kilkenny and Cork. That was the first of four successive year appearances at headquarters. 1973 saw him as the man with the whistle in the Cork/Galway senior football final. Next year brought him his only All-Ireland senior hurling final, the meeting of Kilkenny and Limerick, while in '75 he was in charge for Dublin's impressive emergence on the football scene when they defeated Kerry. The Dublin/Armagh clash of 1977 was his last All-Ireland final. Trips to the United States also beckoned and John refereed the National Hurling League final in New York between Kilkenny and the home team in 1969. He also travelled to San Francisco with the All-Stars teams in 1972, having charge of the football exhibition games played there. All the while, John Moloney was extremely busy at the beck and call of fixtures committees all over, especially in Tipperary. County finals in all grades were placed in his impeccable charge, his fair-mindedness never in question as his knowledge of the rules of the games and their application, invariably administered with a huge dollop of common sense saw him admired and respected everywhere. John always treated players courteously, he was strict in his decisions and that that strictness he wrote about back in the inaugural issue of the Tipperary GAA Year Book in 1970. In addressing other referees John, who still had to reach the pinnacle of his career, wrote of the many fine people at home and abroad, that refereeing had brought him in contact with. ÒPlaces I will never forget are Skibereen, Doonbeg, Hilltown (Down), Wexford, Birmingham, Ballina, Tuam, Castlebar, New York, Boston and many others and I make no boast of the fact that all this good fortune has come my way because I am a strict referee who tries to make our games safe for those who want to participate,' John wrote. He assured referees that if they were sincere in what they were about, no matter how unpopular that might be at times, a firm belief in what they were doing and a good knowledge of the rules would see them through. Off the field, John was always a huge encouragement to those unsung heroes of the GAA, referees. It didn't matter what the occasion was, a juvenile game in Bansha or an All-Ireland final in Croke Park, he was adamant that each deserved his fullest attention. His own temperament. of course, was a vital ingredient in his refereeing make-up. Firm in his approach to everything, that firmness seasoned with gentlemanliness and respect for the individual, John Moloney was truly a model for all aspiring referees. In recent years one of John's great interests was in the organisation and promotion of the Sean Gael concept in Tipperary, that which pays tribute to GAA people who have passed their 70th birthday. He was in the throes of organising the current year's event which takes place in Bru Boru on Sunday November 12th at the time of untimely passing. Ironic too that unknown to him, it had been the committee's decision that he be so honoured in November. John was also football analyst with Tipp FM match commentator Paddy Finucane, his deep knowledge of the game standing him in good stead with his forthright and fair-minded comments. John Moloney was laid to rest on Monday in the cemetery adjoining the Church of the Annunciation in Bansha. He is survived by his wife Betty, his six sons John Anthony, Padraig, Cathal, Andrew, Brian and Jarlath, daughter in law Orna, granddaughter Ciara, his brother, sisters and other relatives.
Voice of P ui C (437 Posts)	Posted: 12-Oct-2006 20:30	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Voice of P ui C (437 Posts)	Very sad to hear of his passing RIP. While he will allways be remembered in Cork for the debacle in the 1976 Munster Football Final, he had many friends here, and was held in high esteem. I got to know John personally in later years and found him to be one of natures gentlemen. Anytime I visited Bansha, he would bend over backwards to make you feel welcome. My abiding memory of John, was, meeting him on the old stand in Semple Stadium just after that never to be forgotton Munster Final in 1984. John was a big man in every sense, but the tears were streaming down his face that day. He embraced me and said, 'ye have every right to win the Centenary All Ireland after that' Ar Deis Lamh De go raibh a anaim. This message has been edited - 12-oct-2006 @ 20:35

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