Michael Loftus (9 August 1929 – 22 April 2023) was an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er, referee and

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. His

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

and

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

career at senior level with the Mayo county team lasted four seasons from 1949 until 1953.

Early life

Loftus first played competitive Gaelic football with St Muredach's College in Ballina. Loftus simultaneously came to prominence with the

Crossmolina Crossmolina () is a town in the barony (Ireland), historical barony of Tirawley, Tyrawley in County Mayo, Ireland, as well as the name of the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Catholic parish in which the town is situated. The town s ...

club at underage levels, before later winning a county senior championship medal with the senior team in 1949. He studied at

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

, where he played for the university football team and won three

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

medals. Loftus made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he was selected for the Mayo minor team. He enjoyed one championship season with the minor team, however, he ended the year as an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

runner-up. Loftus subsequently joined the Mayo junior team, winning

medals in 1950 and in 1957 as captain. By this stage he had also joined the Mayo senior team, making his debut during the 1949-50 league. Over the course of the next four years, Loftus played on a number of occasions and was a non-playing substitute in the 1951 All-Ireland final, for which he was retrospectively awarded a winner's medal decades later.

GAA administrator

In retirement from playing, Loftus became a referee at club and county level. He took charge of the All-Ireland finals in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

. Loftus also served in an administrative capacity with 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 ...

. He was chairman of the Connacht Council and the Centenary Committee before serving as president of the GAA from 1985 until 1988. Loftus was conferred with a

Legum Doctor Legum is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Colin Legum (1919–2003), British anti-apartheid activist * Judd Legum (born 1978), American journalist, lawyer, and political staffer * Margaret Legum (1933–2007), Brit ...

(''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'') by

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

on 20 February 2015.

Death

Loftus died on 22 April 2023, at the age of 93.

Honours

; University College Galway *

(2): 1949, 1951 ; Crossmolina *

Mayo Senior Football Championship The Mayo Senior Football Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Connacht Gold Mayo Senior Football Championship'', is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top Mayo GAA clubs. As of 2024, Ballina Stephenites GAA ...

(1): 1949 ; Mayo *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

(1):

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA competition It has historically consisted of two entirely different formats before and after 2021, but has retained the same name. Since 2022, the competition ...

(2):

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

* Connacht Junior Football Championship (2):

References

1929 births 2023 deaths All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final referees Alumni of the University of Galway Chairmen of Gaelic games governing bodies Connacht Provincial Council administrators Crossmolina Gaelic footballers Gaelic football forwards Gaelic football referees Gaelic games administrators Mayo inter-county Gaelic footballers University of Galway Gaelic footballers Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association 20th-century Irish medical doctors 21st-century Irish medical doctors Medical doctors from County Roscommon {{Mayo-gaelic-football-bio-stub