Tom Loftus (1917–2011; Irish: ''Tomás Ó Lochtuis'') was a former chairman of the Leinster Provincial Council 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 ...

(GAA).

Biography

Tom Loftus was born in

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

town,

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

in 1917. His grandmother ran a

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...

and his father was a journalist with the
Roscommon Herald
'. Loftus moved to Dublin in 1937 and married Ann Mooney in 1951. For most of his life he worked at the

Electricity Supply Board The Electricity Supply Board (ESB; ) is a state owned (95%; the rest are owned by employees) electricity company based in Ireland with operations worldwide. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a commercial semi-state concer ...

(ESB) in the city.

Career

Loftus was chairman of the Leinster Council from 1972–1974, was chairman of the Dublin County Board and was a longstanding member of the organisation. He stood twice for the position of president of the GAA, but was twice pipped at the post, once by his namesake Dr.

Mick Loftus Michael Loftus (9 August 1929 – 22 April 2023) was an Irish Gaelic footballer, referee and Gaelic games administrator. His league and championship career at senior level with the Mayo county team lasted four seasons from 1949 until 1953. Ea ...

. During his period as Dublin Chairman, the team won the

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 ...

. In 1964, became the first chairman to bring his team to the United States, to raise awareness of the GAA in America. In 1965, Loftus was a member of the first GAA committee to examine

Rule 27 Rule 27 of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), also known as "the Ban", was a rule in force from 1905 to 1971 that banned members of the GAA from playing or watching other sports such as rugby, soccer or hockey. The rule The text of Rule 27

, which prevented members from playing, attending or promoting other sports. The rule was originally passed in 1902 and was intended as a way of safeguarding the GAA from the influence of non-gaelic sports, but ultimately resulted in the untimely demise of several promising careers within the organisation. The rule read "Any member of the association who plays or encourages in any way rugby, football, hockey or any imported game which is calculated to injuriously affect our national pastimes, is suspended from the association." The first GAA committee failed to make any recommendations and it wasn't until 1971 that the ban was removed from the rulebooks. Tom was also well known in Dublin for his weekly column in the ''

Evening Press The ''Evening Press'' was an Irish newspaper which was printed from 1954 until 1995. It was set up by Éamon de Valera's Irish Press group, and was originally edited by Douglas Gageby. Its principal competitor was the ''Evening Herald'', whic ...

'' which he wrote throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Tom retired from his post in the ESB in 1977 and quickly became an advocate of junior level GAA, organising and coaching teams in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, particularly

Bray Emmets Bray Emmets Gaelic Athletic Association is a hurling, camogie, Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football club in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. History The first club AGM took place on 11 December 1886. The first recorded Bray Emmets team pla ...

and

Kilmacud Crokes Kilmacud Crokes () is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Ireland. Background Kilmacud GAA club was formed in 1959 following a public meeting in Saint Laurence's Hall, where Stillorgan shopping centre no ...

. After his retirement, Tom received numerous awards and recognitions of his contribution to the organisation. Until his death in 2011, he was the oldest living former chairman in the

Successes

* ''1963'' Dublin won the All Ireland Football Final against

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

:Team: P. Flynn, L. Hickey, L. Foley, W. Casey, D. McKane, P. Holden, M. Kissane, D. Foley, John Timmons, B. McDonald, M. Whelan, G. Davey, S. Behan, D. Ferguson, N. Fox. Sub: P. Downey. * ''1965'' Dublin won the

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA, Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Asso ...

against

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

External links

Chairmen of the Leinster Council

Chairmanships

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loftus, Thomas 1917 births 2011 deaths Chairmen of Gaelic games governing bodies Dublin County Board administrators ESB people Gaelic games administrators Irish columnists Leinster Provincial Council administrators