Joe McDonagh is a retired Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 sportsman and former President of the Gaelic Athletic Association

Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association

The role of President of Gaelic Athletic Association has existed since the foundation of the GAA . The current president of the GAA is Christy Cooney. The role of President involves representing the GAA in Ireland and across the world...

. He played hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 with his local club Ballinderren and with the Galway

Galway GAA

The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...

 senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s.

During his presidency, he'd set in motion the removal of the ban on security forces, all football games to be played in one calendar year and a minimum of two championship games for every inter-county team, even if it took until Seán McCague

Seán McCague

Seán McCague is a former President of the Gaelic Athletic Association . McCague was born in Scotstown, County Monaghan and became the first Monaghan man to hold that prestigious office....

's term for them to be realised. In 2009 he was named in the Sunday Tribune

Sunday Tribune

The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...

's list of the 125 Most Influential People In GAA History.

A singer of considerable talent, he memorably sang "The West's Awake" from the Hogan Stand after Galway's All-Ireland Hurling victory in 1980 and he has appeared in Taibhdhearc Na Gaillimhe (Ireland's National Irish language theatre) productions.

Is ball ghníomhach é ar Coiste Náisiúnta an Oireachtais.

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