Bill Delaney (11 June 1915 – 2000) was a famous

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er from

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

. His death at the age of 85 in July 2000 reminded of a decades-long career in the GAA as a player, referee and administrator.

Career

From a famous footballing family he played Gaelic football at club, county and provincial level during the 1930s and 1940s and was regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Delaney played for Laois in the

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

final of 1932 and when he made his senior debut at the age of 18 the following year he commenced an inter-county career that saw him play in 18 successive championships. He won four

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

titles with Laois during a glorious period that saw them go so close to a taking the elusive

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

title. At the time of his retirement from the senior team, his 41 championship appearances was a Laois senior record - one that would stand for five decades after he finished. In addition, his 11 championship goals remain a (joint) Laois senior football championship record. Bill finished his senior career with a total of 97 appearances (41 SFC, 48 NFL and 8 other), which was another record and remained in place until March 1977, when

John Conway John Horton Conway (26 December 1937 – 11 April 2020) was an English mathematician active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory. He also made contributions to many branches ...

passed him out. Bill also won five

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medals and captained the side in 1929 when the team also included his three brothers Jack, Mick and Chris. The

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, a National Secondary Route, about from Portlaoise. It is a townland, a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish an ...

man also refereed two

finals and was a member of the powerful Central Council for a period that spanned four decades. In recognition of his skills and long-running contribution to the sport, Delaney was awarded the 1994 All-Time All Star Award as no All Stars Awards were being issued at the time of his playing career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaney, Bill 1915 births 2000 deaths All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final referees Gaelic games administrators Gaelic football referees Laois inter-county Gaelic footballers Stradbally (Laois) Gaelic footballers