Lives Remembered: Sports broadcaster and long-serving GAA county board public relations officer

OBITUARY: Brendan Cummins

Brendan Cummins

Dunsany and Wilkinstown

OBITUARY

‘A great Gael’ was a description often used by Brendan Cummins during his years of broadcasting or as public relations officer for Meath County GAA Board, when he was referring to a prominent figure in Gaelic games in Meath who had passed away. Now, sadly, it is time to use those very words to describe Brendan Cummins himself, who has died at the age of 76, following a long battle with illness.

Fighting serious illness for over five years, he never gave in, continuing to provide match commentaries for LMFM radio as long as he could do so. His final broadcast was the Meath v Cavan National Football League home game on Sunday 2nd February last, with his long-term analyst, Mattie Kerrigan.

A Dunsany clubman, his family were deeply involved in the founding of the club, and it brought him great joy and emotion to see them win their first ever adult county championship last year, going on to a Leinster final. It was those championship Sundays that kept him going, as well as the preparations for broadcasting the county games each week. A great font of knowledge and information on Meath footballers and hurlers past and present, he was a treasure trove of records and statistics relating to Gaelic games.

There was a strong family tradition in Gaelic football. His father, Jack, was a member of the first Meath county team to play in an All-Ireland senior football final, against Kerry in 1939 – Meath’s first Leinster championship of the 20th century.

A native of Rathmolyon, Jack played almost all his football in Castletown and won an intermediate championship with the club in 1946, adding to his two Leinster championship and two Railway Cup medals. He was working in Castletown for the parish priest, Fr Moran, and it at this time that Jack met his wife, Jenny Barnes from Syddan parish. They set up home in Rathkenny, where their older children were born, before moving to Dunsany when Brendan was an infant, living in the landmark former RIC Barracks at the crossroads. Jack was a founder member of the football club there in 1963, with Brendan’s brother, Pat on their inaugural committee and team.

Earlier, Brendan was part of an unofficial Dunsany team that played Dunshaughlin in 1962, which included a number of Warrenstown College students, and was a regular with the fledgling club for the next decade. He was selected to play for the Meath minors in 1966, following in the footsteps of his great friend, Michael Smith, playing against Wexford in the first round of Leinster in Croke Park in 1966, in the corner-forward position. He was on the county minor team again in 1967, playing centre half-forward against Louth and Dublin.

He excelled in college football and hurling while attending secondary school at Belcamp College, Dublin, and represented his province at basketball.

In 1972, Dunsany played in its first ever junior football championship final, against Ballinabrackey, with Brendan Cummins as captain. His opposite number as captain was Meath star, Peter Moore. It would be another 52 years before Dunsany would win that final, a victory last year against St Vincent’s, Ardcath, that brought great joy to Brendan as his health declined, reflected in an emotional broadcast on LMFM. In 1970, he played for the county senior team in O'Byrne Cup games and a number of senior challenges, alongside clubmate, Michael Costello. He also played Under-21 football with Walterstown for a period, as well as hurling with Kiltale.

In 1984, when then GAA national president, Mick Loftus, challenged each club to record their history for the GAA centenary, Brendan Cummins was the ideal candidate to produce the Dunsany publication, editing a detailed and informative book recording the first 21 years of the club. It included a delightful memory piece ‘A Ramble Through Dunsany and Through Time’ recalling the parish and its characters in his youth. Later, when Dunsany opened its new clubhouse and grounds at Páirc na nGael in May 2000, he produced a programme and organised challenge match between the All-Ireland champions, Meath, and John O’Mahony’s 1998 All-Ireland winners, Galway. He also organised a Meath-Dublin charity game the following year to mark a decade since the famous four-in-a-row.

Elected to Meath County Board of the GAA, he became its long serving public relations officer, also serving as fixtures secretary, and Leinster Council and Central Council delegate. It was the era of Fintan Ginnity as chairman, and there were sometimes robust exchanges with the media, including one in which Brendan criticised coverage of Gaelic games on local newspapers and radio. It was also an era of great success with Sean Boylan’s All-Ireland winning sides, which was an exciting time to be involved in the association in Meath.

His programme for the Meath senior football finals of 2005 and 2009 were awarded the best provincial county final programme in Leinster for those years. After almost two decades as PRO – apart from a period when Ballinlough’s recently deceased Jimmy Brady took over the mantle - he stepped down in 2009, when succeeded by Summerhill’s Ann McDonnell.

With LMFM Radio, his commentaries on GAA games were unmatched, as he meticulously prepared for broadcasts, and he will be very hard to replace, as the station found on occasions when he took redundancy or retirement packages – he was always brought back to cover Meath matches and county championship games. He was the consummate professional.

He joined LMFM in 1992 and as well as his commentaries he presented the weekday sports bulletins, weekend sport shows and also provided cover on the popular Sunday Morning request show.

When he retired as head of sport at LMFM in 2017, he was joined at the radio station by Sean Boylan, Mattie Kerrigan and the late Fintan Ginnity for a tribute broadcast. Looking back on his career, he highlighted the co-operation of the Meath GAA players and managers, and the local horseracing fraternity, in particular Noel Meade and Tony Martin, as well as rugby player and former Meath minor footballer, Shane Horgan, golfer Des Smyth, soccer organiser Gerry Gorman, and cycling's Kay and the late Gabriel Howard.

Horse racing was also a passion for Brendan, with Dun Doire's win in the 2006 William Hill Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival, trained by Tony Martin, and owned by a Dunderry syndicate, a particular highlight for him, as well as Noel Meade's successes.

Brendan was honoured as special guest at the 2017 Meath senior county final, throwing in the ball between Simonstown Gaels and Summerhill, and in 2022, was inducted into the Meath GAA Hall of Fame, alongside Boardsmill hurling figure, TJ Reilly.

He was in constant demand as a master of ceremonies at book launches, race day events, dinner dances, table quizzes, and GAA and sporting functions of all types across the county, his widespread knowledge of all things Gaelic games simply rolling off his tongue. He had a collection of match programmes and memorabilia going back to his father’s 1939 appearance, as well as a 1915 camogie programme featuring Meath. He remained on a County Board history research committee in latter years.

Prior to joining LMFM, he had worked with Navan Carpets and Tara Mines.

Marriage to Margaret McKeown of Wilkinstown saw Brendan move north of Navan, to Demailstown, but he never lost touch with Dunsany, remaining as a club and committee member, and was a delegate to the county board and club president at the time of his passing. Margaret died in June 2021 following her own battle with illness.

Predeceased by Margaret, his parents Jack and Jenny, and his brother, Sean, Dundalk, Brendan is survived by his daughter, Mairead; brother, Pat, Kilmessan; sisters Mary Darmody and Nuala O'Toole-King, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews relatives and a large circle of friends, neighbours, and colleagues.

Tributes to Brendan have been flowing in the days since his passing, from across the GAA, broadcasting, sporting and media organisations, as well as from his radio colleagues and listeners. Crowds streamed to his wake at the Chapel of Rest in Johnstown, Navan, on Monday, with his funeral taking place on Tuesday at the Church of St John the Baptist, Kilberry, celebrated by Fr John O'Brien, PP, assisted by Fr Derek Ryan, the Louth-based priest who is a Meath GAA referee.

Joining the Cummins family were Sean Boylan, former Meath GAA manager, 1999 All-Ireland-winning team, Graham Geraghty, and Mattie Kerrigan, who took part in the Mass, as well as past and present colleagues from LMFM, and members of Meath County Board led by chairman, Jason Plunkett. Dunsany and Wolfe Tones members, as well as Co Board representatives, formed a guard of honour. Colm Corrigan of LMFM read a tribute poem at burial in Kilberry graveyard, where Brendan was laid to rest alongside Margaret.