Schedule of Events
10am Under 14 Football Blitz, GAA field, Sportsfield Road, Sneem
4pm Unveiling celebrations begin in South Square
5pm Unveiling ceremony
6.15pm Entertainment by The Sneem Melody Makers
7.30pm Football Match – Sneem/Derrynane v Lispole in GAA field, Sportsfield Road, Sneem
10.30pm Live Band “Hell for Leather” – Sneem Hotel
Honouring a Football Legend on June 17th
On June 17th , Sneem GAA , via its ‘John Egan Memorial Committee’ will host the unveiling of a bronze memorial to one of the ‘All-time Greats’ of Kerry football and Sneem native, John Egan. The memorial is a life size statue of John, sculpted by renowned artist , Alan Hall from Valentia and will be set in South Square , facing Sneem Sportsfield, where John gave so many displays of his remarkable footballing skills, vision etc. over many years.
The memorial will be unveiled by a quartet of GAA icons comprised of Mick O Dwyer, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Jimmy Deenihan and Niall Cahalane of Cork fame. All 40 of John’s teammates and panel members between 1973 and 1984 have been invited to attend. In addition, members of the great Dublin team of the 1970s have also been invited and already Seán Doherty, Anton O Toole , John McCarthy and Robbie Kelleher have said that they hope to be with us in Sneem on the 17 th . In addition to many of John’s great opponents from Cork, like Dinny Allen, Colman Corrigan.etc., we also hope to have Richie Connor, captain of the Offaly team of 1982. Furthermore I can say that Seamus Darby , the man who shattered the dreams and hearts of all Kerry sports fans in September 1982 with that infamous late goal, has confirmed that he will be with us in Sneem for the unveiling of John’s memorial.
There is a busy schedule of events organized for the 17th . Between 10am and 2pm an Under 14 ‘John Egan Football Blitz’ will be staged at Sneem Sportsfield, with the final taking place at 2pm.
At 4pm the unveiling celebrations commence with video displays on a big screen of John’s famous scores for Kerry. In addition, it is hoped to have Marty Morrissey with us to have a chat with some of John’s illustrious teammates and indeed some older stars like Mick O Connell and younger icons like Seamus Moynihan and Colm Cooper, who have all been invited to attend.
The Unveiling Ceremony commences at 5pm and we can look forward to hearing from Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Mick O Dwyer, Niall Cahalane, Tim Murphy , among others. We will have John Egan’s wife, Mary and her children, John Jnr. and Máirín on stage also. I think that many will be very anxious to hear from John Jnr., now that he joined that elite band of sportspeople who has represented his country.
Following the unveiling ceremony, traditional entertainment will be provided by our local ‘Sneem Melody Makers. At 7.30pm a football County League Match will take place in Sneem Sportsgrounds between Sneem/Derrynane and Lispole. At 10.30pm the celebrations will continue in the Sneem Hotel with the band ‘Hell for Leather ‘ providing the entertainment.
Finally, Sneem GAA invites one and all who enjoy sports and in particular, all those throughout Kerry and beyond, who would have played with or against John Egan, at any level, to come to Sneem on June 17th, to pay tribute to a true Gaelic football legend.
Incidentally, it’s still not too late to be part of the memorial by making a donation to ‘The John Egan Memorial Fund’ C/o Sneem GAA , Sneem. Any queries to Tim O Sullivan, Chairman of ‘John Egan Memorial Committee.’ 086-8559283.