[caption id="attachment_66698" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Mick Lally"]
ROSCOMMON PRESIDENT
HONORS DERMOT EARLEY
President Mary McAleese described the late Lt. Gen. Dermot Earley as a modern modern-day Cúchulainn at the unveiling of a bronze memorial to mark his illustrious football career, which spanned more than 20 years, and his 44 years of service with the Defense Forces.
She said he was "one of the finest men ever born on this island" when she unveiled the memorial to the legendary Roscommon footballer in his home village of Gorthaganny last week.
Before a crowd of about 2,000 the president said that for the people of Gorthaganny and Roscommon, the late Lt. Gen. Earley, who died at age 62 on June 23, 2010, was "a hero, a statesman, a man of remarkable character, skill and sheer goodness." The other speakers at the unveiling ceremony were David Earley, Dermot's son who spoke on behalf of the Earley family; Seamus Crawley, chairperson of the Gorthaganny Development Company, and Dr. Christopher Jones, Bishop of Elphin who said a prayer of dedication.
Among those in attendance were broadcaster Micheál O Muircheartaigh, former GAA President Jack Boothman, Lt. Gen Sean McCann, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Deputies Frank Feighan, Luke "Ming" Flanagan, Denis Naughten and John O'Mahony, Senator John Kelly, Senator Terry Leyden and Mayor Eugene Murphy.
The former Roscommon footballers were present in John Joe Nerney of the Roscommon team that won the All-Ireland title in 1943 and 1944, Pat Doorey and Christy Grogan. Earley's own teammates from the side who reached the 1980 All-Ireland final were also in attendance, including the manager of that team Tom Heneghan and the team captain Danny Murray.
President McAleese said:"Dermot Earley was a man who reached the highest office in our Defense Forces. His work took him all over the world but no matter whose company he was in, of what country, he brought with him this place, his home place, the place and the people that shaped him and formed him into a man who inspired universal love, admiration and respect."
GALWAY ACTOR MICK
LALLY REMEMBERED
A specially commissioned window seat in memory of the late Mick Lally was unveiled at the Druid Lane Theatre last week, the Galway Advertiser reports
Lally, one of Ireland's greatest and best loved actors, died on Aug. 31, 2010 at age 64.
He was a co-founder of Druid, along with Garry Hynes and Marie Mullen in 1975 and the seat will serve as a permanent reminder of his association with the company.
The seat was designed by Tom de Paor Architects who were also responsible for the refurbishment of Druid theatre in 2009.
The inscription on the seat carries a line from J.M. Synge's "The Playboy of the Western World," the first play Druid produced in 1975 with Lally playing the leading role of playboy Christy Mahon, opposite Marie Mullen's Pegeen Mike.
The inscription is a line Lally delivered in Act III: "Isn't there the light of seven heavens in your heart alone, the way you'll be an angel's lamp to me from this out, and I abroad in the darkness spearing salmons in the Owen or the Carrowmore."
Lally had a strong connection with Synge's work which culminated in his appearances in the DruidSynge productions of "Deirdre of the Sorrows," "The Playboy," "The Well of the Saints," and "The Shadow of The Glen" between 2004 and 2006.
Attending the unveiling were Lally's widow Peige, daughter Saileog, son Darach, Garry Hynes and Marie Mullen, and the many friends and colleagues Lally met through his acting career as well as those friends with whom he shared his love of music.
"Mick has always been at the very heart of the fabric of Druid," Hynes said. "With this seat, Mick's spirit and memory will forever be part of the theatre. He was a big, brave hearted man with such passion for his craft that he may even whisper to us every now and again."
