Rathcline’s Jean Farrell featured on front page of Gaelic Sport magazine in January 1969
Longford Gaelic Stats is a renowned treasure trove for everyone in the county of Longford and especially for anyone that is interested in GAA statistics of club and county.
The social media site is currently driven by three Killoe men and while none of them reside in Longford, they have a huge interest and love of their home county.
As part of their work, the site managers received an old Gaelic games magazine from January 1969.
Also read: Ballymahon GAA launch major fundraiser ‘Quid Games’ to kickstart next stage of pitch development
It was the cover of Gaelic Sport magazine and it featured a photograph of local Ivy Villa, Rathcline, lady Jean Farrell who was creating her own bit of history back then when she was elected to the executive of UCG Football club.
PROPERTY WATCH: Stunning six-bedroom home in Longford lands on the market for €449,000
Jean was a trailblazer in her own right as she was one of the first if not the first lady to be in a leading role of a GAA club executive.
Jean is the sister of Fintan Farrell who was an excellent player for both club and county and a leading figure in Rathcline’s only county title in 1976.
Also read: Longford IFC: Vital victory for Cashel in close encounter against Killashee
Jean later married Adrian Duncan from Ballymahon where they raised their family and still live. Adrian in his own right was an outstanding player for the Ballymahon club for many years.
The photograph of Jean in the magazine where she was being mentioned as a pioneer is an excellent reminder to the local community of the role she played in local history in bringing women to the top table within the GAA.
It is because of her initial footsteps that many more women have been able to follow the trail that Jean first blazed.
Also read: Longford auctioneer campaigns at Dáil for updating of 19th century property law
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.