Dr Joe Costello dies, aged 60

The death took place in Galway yesterday of Joe Costello, a man who contributed significantly to the sporting life in his native Galway and to Connacht rugby in particular. He was 60.

There was no more avid sports enthusiast than Joe, and his diverse tastes embraced rugby, golf and soccer, and Galway seldom played a hurling or Gaelic football match of consequence without Joe being present to offer his support.

And while it was as a rugby player and administrator that he left an indelible mark, he was also an accomplished golfer, playing at one time off a handicap of three.

He was educated at Clongowes Wood College and was on the team that won the Leinster Schools Junior Cup in 1952 - the last time the college won that trophy. He was on the Leinster Schools team in 1955. While still a teenager he was a member of the Galwegians teams which won back-to-back Connacht Senior Cup and League doubles in 1957 and 1958.

A medical student at UCG, he then played his rugby with the college side and won senior cup medals with UCG in 1961 and a cup and league double in 1962. He was capped for Connacht at senior level on 10 occasions in the Interprovincial Championship, and also played for the Combined Irish Universities.

When his medical duties took him to England for a time in the mid 1960s he played for Birkenhead Park and London Irish. But in 1969, on his return to Galway, he won his fifth Connacht Senior Cup medal when he was on the Galwegians team that defeated UCG.

His playing career over, he then made an equally distinguished contribution at administrative level. He was president of the UCG club for three years, a chairman of the Connacht senior selectors and president of the Connacht Branch in 1982-83.

He maintained a great interest in the rugby fortunes of his old school and rarely missed a Clongowes Wood match. He was present to see Clongowes win the Leinster Schools Senior Cup in March. He was president of the Clongowes Union in 1993-94.

He is a former captain of Galway Golf Club, a club with which his family has had a long association, and in recent years he has been president of Galway United FC. Only three weeks ago he was elected chairman of the Connacht Tribune Newspaper.

Joe was a man totally without any complications and had the ability to communicate and make friends with people right across the social spectrum. Five years ago he was struck down with a serious illness, and he revealed typical fortitude in overcoming that and resumed his medical duties.

In recent months, unfortunately, he was far from well again, but it did not deter him for pursuing his wide sporting interests. Indeed, in April he travelled to France to support the Ireland Under-19 rugby team that won the World Cup.

He will be greatly missed by many of us proud to have called him a friend, but nowhere more so than in the happy family home he shared with his wife, Mary, and two sons. Sincere sympathy is extended to them.