Most people will have been aware about the hurling prowess of former Oisins star Enneas Black who died on Christmas Day, but a lot of people will not be aware that he was also an accomplished footballer, representing Garron Tower and Con Magees Glenravel.

Enneas won four Ulster Colleges Hurling medals with Garron Tower, three of them being Ulster Shield medals, while the fourth was a Mageean Cup award in 1963, the first year the famous trophy was played for. That win saw the Tower become the first Ulster team to play in the Croke Cup and in April 1964 they travelled to Dublin to take on St Peter’s Wexford in All Ireland semi-final.

Although well beaten in the end the Tower team gave a good account of themselves, with Enneas Black putting in a top class display as he scored 1-4 of his team’s 2-5 total.

In 1962 Enneas played on the Garron Tower fooball team who competed in the MacCrory Cup, at a time when the school was very competitive in the Ulster Schools competitions. In 1963 he was a member of the Glenravel Con Magees team who were beaten by Sarsfields in the Antrim Minor Football final at Casement Park, while the following year, 1964, he scored two points in the final against St John’s when Glenravel became the first team to win the Antrim Under 21 Football title.

But of course it was with his native Glenariffe that he will be best remembered and in 1966 he was on the Oisins team who lost out to a great Loughgiel team after a replay in the Antrim Senior Championship final. In the drawn game the Glenariffe men came so close to causing a major upset when they drew with Loughgiel in Fr Healy  Park, Loughgiel, but the following week the Shamrocks came out on top in the replay back in Waterfoot.

Enneas Black will be fondly remembered throughout the county but especially in his native glen. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to his daughters Sinead (Campbell), Linda (McCaughan) and Patricia (McCollam) and the wider family circle.