Cushendall Ruairi Og has lost a real stalwart with the passing of Charlie Delargy. A member of a great hurling family who have served the club both on and off the field down through the years. The Delargy family have played a major part in the rise of hurling in the Cushendall club over the past forty years.
Charlie served as club secretary and as chairman in the 1980s and in 1985 when the club could not get anyone to take on the job as senior team manager he and the club chairman at the time Donal Kearney stepped into the breach and ended up steering them to the senior championship title with a famous win over Loughgiel in the final in Glenravel.
His brother John captained the first Cushendall team to win the championship back in 1981, while Malachy was a member of the team. John’s sons Aidan, Sean and Alex all went on to win county titles, Sean following in his father’s footsteps by captaining the winning teams of 2005 and 2008, while Malachy’s son Brian was also a member of a few county title winning teams and captained Antrim minors to an Ulster title and his brother Andrew also lined out in the Maroon jersey. Patrick Gerard’s sons Michael, Gerard and Kevin all lined out for the Ruairi Og and of course Kevin was the team doctor with the Tipperary hurlers for many years. Charlie may not have reached the heights of some of his brothers on the field of play but his dedication to the Ruairi Og cause was unlimited.
To his wife Anne, daughter Jacqueline, brothers and sisters, Rose, Patrick Gerard, Alice, Martin, John, Malachy and the late Alister, and the wide Delargy family circle we offer our sincere condolences
This is a tribute which was posted on the Ruairi Og Facebook page
Today, it is with great sadness that we learned about the passing of Charlie Delargy, one of our most esteemed members in recent times. He was a true Ruairí Óg who served the club in a variety of roles during his life. He was a player, a selector on the successful 1985 SHC team and an administrator of some note serving both as Secretary and Chairperson at a time when the club was in a period of important development both on and off the pitch. He was also a Trustee of the Club.
In whatever capacity Charlie represented his club, he was always totally committed. He would never ask another member to do something he was not prepared to do himself -whether that was selling tickets, raising funds, being an umpire or lifting a shovel or trowel. Charlie attended numerous meetings as a club official and always made sure that whatever he did or said reflected favourably on his beloved Ruairí Óg CLG. When he spoke at meetings, he did so with clarity and decisiveness; he said it as he saw it and it took a convincing argument to change his stance. In short, a man with a mind of his own and a leader with the vision to see beyond the present. A regular attender at members’ meetings, his opinions and views were always held in the highest regard by his peers. At this very sad time, we offer our sincere condolences to his wife Ann, daughter Jacqueline and all the Delargy family.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.