Leitrim people all know what the McGovern family have done for Leitrim and for the GAA

The Funeral of James McGovern took place on Wednesday, 18th January, 2023 in St Vincent  De Paul, Church, Marino, Dublin 9. At 10.30 the car park was  full an full hour before the Funeral Mass.  It was a funeral for an incredibly special man and that man was James McGovern, writes Eamonn Duignan.

The McGovern family from Aughavas are known not only the length and breadth of Ireland but in the UK and USA. Leitrim people all know what the family have done for Leitrim and for the GAA in particular. 

The McGovern name is on the stand in Avant Money Páirc Sean MacDiarmada, on the Centre  of Excellence in Annaduff, and McGovern Park (formerly known as Emerald GAA Grounds) is the current headquarters and principal Gaelic games facility of the London GAA. It is situated in South Ruislip, West London. 

The family have been very generous to Leitrim GAA, GAA clubs in Leitrim, Dublin, London, and New York. 

The President of the GAA Larry McCarthy was in attendance in the McGovern family home at the wake the previous evening.

James, who passed away on the 15th of January peacefully at home, was in his 90th year, born on the 3rd of February 1933. He would have loved to have got to ninety but just fell 19 days short. 

The crowd assembled outside the church including a guard of honour by the Mostrim GAA Club in Longford. He bought his first pub in Mostrim in 1962 and sold it in 1974. While in Mostrim he became so immersed in the club and his love was rewarded when Mostrim won their first championship in 1974. 

Although he left Mostrim almost 50 years ago he was not forgotten and his loyalty and contribution to the club was rewarded  when he was appointed Vice President, a position he held until he passed away a few days ago. It shows the esteem in which James was held.

Not only was the car park full, every seat in the church was taken and people stood along the sides and the  back of the church. Many people had travelled from Leitrim and Longford to say their last goodbyes. 

The Mass Celebrants were Fr James McKiernan, Fr Nigel Charles,  Fr Eamonn Devlin and Fr Bernard Noonan.

Symbols of James’s  life  brought to the altar included photographs of his fourteen grandchildren, a photo of The Goblet pub in Artane, football jerseys, newspapers, and his passport.

Fr McKiernan welcomed everyone and spoke about James. He said all the things that can be said  about James can be summed up simply by saying , ‘He was a good man.’ 

He spoke about his loyalty, his sincerity, his great friendship, his generosity, his character, and his love of storytelling. He had an enthusiastic sense of humour and was always willing to help people. Above everything else, he was a family man.

The  first and second readings were read by his daughters Eileen and Vera. Andy, his son, and six of his grandchildren said the prayers of the faithful. 

The family bond is strong and family members who had passed were prayed for including Fr Andy, Paddy Joe, Peter, and sisters Maureen and Bridgie.

The reflection called The Wild Rose was read by his daughter Nuala.

The Wild Rose 

You’ll find us by the boreens where the willows meet the reeds

As friendships blend to courtships and the nights end into days

Where cobwebs glisten and dew drops spine the briars to the weeds

And the swallows swoop to listen to the river as it plays

From the shores around Lough Melvin, Lough MacNean or Carrigeancor

To the plate of O’Rourke’s Table or Swiss Valley in Glencar

Where the waterfall arises to the towers of Truskmore

And the ghosts of the brightest minds still cower in their cars

As the shadow of Benwisken throws its shade across Glenade

And the salmon ply their knowledge by the college on the Drowes

Where the masters wrote their annals, as the light began to fade

And the locals drew their dour coup in patterns in the clouds

In Lurgan, boys so poised, with furs, to serve its tropic smell

From the ridges to the bridges through the drumlins to the glens

We’ll be there where the tree stump, gives us the finger by the well

To all who stop to linger, for to drink their drop again

But for all were in the landscapes, we are as much within the mind 

In the glint and hint of devilment, the boldness and the craic 

of a people first and foremost duty bound to just be kind

And who know, for all we go away, there’s always coming back 

And by the bridge in Milltown I am grounded in my dreams,

On the bench beside the Bonet as Benbulben dips its toes 

Where I sit within the wisdom of the healing energies that 

are written in the wildness of the river and the rose.

The eulogy was read by his son Aidan. In a wonderful eulogy, Aidan told of James' life and spoke of James' great friends Tommy Moran, Andy McGovern, Mike Dillon, and Joe Bohan (the latter two in New York).

He told of a fourteen-year-old leaving Aughavas and coming to Dublin. It was not easy and  back then those young guys coming to Dublin did have to work and work hard. 

From Dublin to London -  after a few years in Dublin he was off to London. In  London, Tara’s was his GAA Club. From London back to Aughavas. He met Peggy along the way and they separately decided they were going to New York. When James discovered Peggy was on a different flight James walked to Mohill from Aughavas and got his flight changed so he could travel with Peggy. 

In New  York, his GAA club was Leitrim. Back to Dublin in 1970 James bought The Goblet pub in Artane. In Dublin, his GAA club was Parnells. 

Aidan spoke of how his mother Peggy had carried James for 60 years. In the last few years Peggy was by his side as they laughed together over stories told and retold and still laughed as if hearing them for the first time. 

He recalled watching his mother through a glass window talking as if talking to someone. He went to her and asked who she was talking to as there was no one in the room. ‘I am asking Alexa to play Lovely Leitrim’ came the reply.

Aidan said that James had played every minute of the seventy on the pitch and played extra time as well. He won the match. 

James lived life to the full and gave it everything he had, to his family, his work and his friends. Aidan concluded, “Our family are  proud to say we had the best daddy in the world.”

James was removed to Dardistown Cemetery for burial.

By Eamonn Duignan

Leitrim GAA County Board Chairman Enda Stenson paid tribute to the late James McGovern for what he described as his “enormous contribution to the GAA in his home club of Aughavas, his beloved County Leitrim and the GAA in London. James, Tony and the other members of the McGovern family, have been steadfast in their support for Aughavas, Leitrim and London GAA over the years.

“They have supported club and county teams through generous sponsorship and are the main contributors to Ardán Mhic Shamhráin (McGovern Stand) in Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada and the Leitrim GAA Centre of Excellence in Annaduff , as well as the London GAA headquarters in Ruislip.

“GAA people from Leitrim and London are forever indebted to James and the McGovern family for their contributions over the years. The McGovern sponsored jersey is synonymous with the famous 1994 Connacht winning title team while the McGovern Stand is a fitting tribute to the McGovern family's immense contribution to Leitrim GAA,” he said.