FORMER PRESIDENT of the GAA, Pat Fanning, who has died at the age of 91, secured a place in history when he chaired the landmark 86th congress, which abolished the controversial ban on members playing or even attending "foreign games".
A Waterford man, he was born into a sporting family in 1918 and from his early days hurling was in the blood. He won seven senior championships with his local club Mount Sion and was a member of the Waterford senior inter-county team in the 1940s and 1950s.
His brother Larry, whose obituary appeared in these columns last year, also played both with Mount Sion and at inter-county level, and was a sub on Waterford's first senior All-Ireland winning team in 1948.
A traditionalist, the former leader of the country's biggest sports organisation represented the conservative side of internal GAA politics. In this vein, he voiced trenchant opposition to any attempt to abolish the highly contentious ban under rule 27. A hangover from another era, the ban came in for growing criticism when the winds of change ruffled the grassroots of the GAA in the 1960s and 1970s as the popularity of soccer and rugby increased here.
Recognising the changing mood among younger members of the organisation, and despite his own feelings, Fanning gained plaudits for his even-handed chairing of the decisive 1971 congress at Queens University, Belfast, where the ban was scrapped. A brilliant orator, he was highly respected in the association. And though he had fought hard over the years to retain the rule, the absence of rancour, tension or division after the ban was deleted was largely due to his generosity of spirit and his skill in putting the potentially explosive question before the packed Congress.
In his presidential address to 300 delegates, he was at pains to emphasise there should be no blowing of trumpets and no talk of deceit when the rule, first introduced in 1902, finally disappeared from the Official Guide, the bible of the GAA. At a stroke, the motion was adopted without debate, effectively bringing an end to a controversy that had raged for more than 10 years.
He will be remembered as one of the most successful GAA presidents, particularly for defusing potential fireworks at the congress being in the North at a time of increasing violence on both sides of the border.
Having served in office between 1970 and 1973, he was the longest-surviving ex-president. His involvement in administration of the GAA began in 1941 as secretary of Mount Sion club.
Paying tribute to his predecessor, current GAA president Christy Cooney described him as "an inspirational figure", who played an active role at every level of the association both before and after serving as president, displaying real leadership qualities in the three years that he served in that position, and making an immense contribution to GAA over a prolonged period.
One of the most successful developments of his presidency was the introduction of the highly popular senior club All-Irelands. He was chairman of Waterford county board on three occasions and became its honorary life president.
He worked for the department of posts and telegraphs and was a regular delegate to annual congress until recent years. In 2005 he was honoured with an appreciation award in Dungarvan.
For many years he wrote a weekly column in the Waterford News & Star. His son Mairtín is the Irish Ambassador to Australia.
Ironically, leftover business from the 1971 congress will echo in Croke Park today, a reminder of a device conceived by Fanning to assuage the unease of other diehards opposed to dropping the ban. Effectively, he copper-fastened the principle of restricting the use of GAA grounds exclusively for the promotion of the "national games", a measure that will come into force after today's match between Ireland and Scotland, perhaps the last international rugby test match likely to be seen at Croke Park for some time.
Following his presidency, he continued to comment on GAA matters and when Croke Park admitted "foreign games" in 2005, he complained rugby schools had not dropped their ban on Gaelic games, predicted that the move would "double and treble" the income of other sports, and warned it would give them ammunition to penetrate schools where Gaelic games were traditionally played.
He was predeceased by his wife Maura in 2003, the 60th year of their marriage. He is survived by sons Philip, Mairtín, and Pat, daughter Eileen, and sister Kitty.
Pat Fanning: born August 25th, 1918; died March 14, 2010