Seán McCague ( – 24 November 2022) was an Irish

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

administrator, footballer, referee and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

who served as the 33rd

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(2000–2003). He became the first Monaghan man to hold that office.

Career

McCague was born in Scotstown,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

. He played football at junior level there. However, he won a Monaghan Senior Football Championship with his club (Scotstown) in 1974. An injury to his back ended his playing career prematurely. He managed the

Monaghan senior football team The Monaghan county football team ( ) represents Monaghan in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Monaghan GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; th ...

from the late 1970s. He managed his county team to the 1979

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

(SFC) title and then led it to two further Ulster SFC titles, as well as the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

title in 1985. The 1979 title win was Monaghan's first for 41 years. He served as

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

assistant manager under Eugene McGee for the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and 1990 International Rules Series. He was also a referee. Mc Cague was also involved in administration as early as the mind 1970"s when he served as joint County Secretary with Francie Mc Atavie from Ballybay Pearse Brothers. As GAA president he is mostly remembered for the removal of Rule 21 in November 2001. Rule 21 banned members of the British security forces (who were an unwelcome force for most GAA fans) from playing

. The rule was abolished despite the opposition of five of the six northern counties ( Antrim,

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

and Tyrone). At the annual 2001 GAA Congress, McCague convinced

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

to pledge €76 million towards the redevelopment of

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

. This amount was later reduced to €38 million.

Personal life

McCague was married to Bernie (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Connolly, d. 2024) with five daughters Paula, Nuala, Martha, Freda and Emma. He qualified as an NT National School Teacher at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, after attending the Preparatatory College, Coláiste Íosagáin, Baile Bhúirne. He taught in Scoil Mhuire St Mary's Boys' National School in Monaghan Town before becoming principal of Urbleshanny NS in 1977, he returned to St Mary's in 1981. He died on 24 November 2022, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCague, Sean 1940s births Year of birth missing 2022 deaths Gaelic football managers Gaelic football referees Gaelic games club administrators Gaelic games players from County Monaghan Heads of schools in Ireland Ireland international rules football team Irish schoolteachers People from Scotstown, County Monaghan Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association Scotstown Gaelic footballers