Ahern hails tragic GAA hero's example

The former Tyrone football captain Cormac McAnallen displayed leadership qualities in everything he did, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today.

The 24-year-old, who died at his home in Tyrone from sudden cardiac death syndrome two years ago, had won every honour in the game including minor, U21 and senior All-Ireland medals.

Mr Ahern said it was no exaggeration to say that communities the length and breadth of the island had been rocked to the core by his death.

“One of our finest sporting heroes, a man who, as is so often quoted, had gained every accolade in the GAA, and who, without a doubt, had so much more to achieve in life, was taken from us with no forewarning,” he said.

Mr Ahern was delivering the second Cormac McAnallen Leadership Lecture to students at St Catherine’s College in Armagh – the school where the sporting star taught. He said Cormac did not need a stage or a podium to inspire others to follow him.

“The very way in which he led his life was an inspiration to us all. He threw himself wholeheartedly into everything he did, whether it was in leading his team-mates on the pitch or as a teacher here at St Catherine’s, with conviction, with team spirit and above all, with passion,” he said.

Mr Ahern told students that leadership was about attitude and actions, not about words and position.

“It is about using the talents and skills that are innate in every one of us as human beings to make a difference to the world around us,” he said.

Following Cormac’s death, the Government set up a task force to investigate sudden cardiac death syndrome.

Its report, published last month, did not recommend mass screening of athletes on the grounds that the testing was not accurate enough. However, it did recommend screening for elite athletes and the provision of health questionnaires to all sports club members.

Mr Ahern told students that he wanted to use the Cormac McAnallen Leadership lecture to encourage them to engage in politics.

“I have no doubt that those of you who were privileged enough to be taught by Cormac in either politics or history, gained a clear understanding of the urgency and need for engagement,” he said.

As a young student in St Patrick’s Grammar School in Armagh, Cormac captained the team which won RTE’s Blackboard Jungle nationwide school’s quiz in 1997.

He went on to captain the Tyrone minors and Under 21s to All Ireland titles and played a key role in Tyrone’s first senior All Ireland title in 2003.

He played with Ireland in the International Rules series for three years and was engaged to be married to Ashlene Moore at the time of his death.

The first Cormac McAnallen lecture was delivered at St Catherine’s last year by President Mary McAleese.

The McAnallen family have set up the Cormac Trust to raise funds for heart disease and to provide life-saving equipment like defibrillators to every GAA club in Tyrone.