Blarney golf club and Inniscarra GAA pay tribute to very popular Mike O’Sullivan 

AS we begin to return to some kind of new normal, to stretch our all-too-stiff limbs it is inevitable that we consider the impact the lockdown had on our personal, social, business and sporting lives. 

Many of us have grieved for lost partners, relatives, friends or neighbours. Very few leave the lockdown unmarked.

Blarney Golf Resort and Inniscarra GAA, like all too many community organisations, step towards new normality re-energised but carrying a great sadness too.

Just last Friday Michael O'Sullivan - Michael, Mike, Mick, Micky Sull, Sully - was buried after he died suddenly at the age of just 57. 

From Killowen outside Blarney, he was the youngest of three boys. He celebrated a wide range of sporting interests and brought great energy, commitment, as well as an unflinching yes-we-can spirit to those adventures.

He was a long-standing member of Blarney Golf Resort where he was president in 2013 and had served as treasurer. His energy and enthusiasm sustained the club through its earliest days. 

Four years ago he captained the Wayside Inn Golf Society with aplomb. 

Just last year he was a selector for Inniscarra’s successful Junior B football team. Earlier, he played soccer with Killowen and GAA with Blarney. He was an active, enthusiastic supporter of Munster rugby too.

He had an easy, engaging charm that he used to advance the clubs he served. He was that most important thing in any club – a steely unifier. Every successful club has at least one Micky Sull but they are not always fully appreciated. 

That is not so in this case. 

His funeral last Friday, when the cortege visited his beloved golf club before his many friends in Inniscarra GAA brought him to his rest in St Senan’s Cemetery, showed an exceptional degree of respect and affection. 

Part of his legacy is the success of the clubs he contributed so much to.

He is survived by his wife Margaret Linehan and their children Stephen and Judy to whom we extend our condolences.

Ar dheis de go raibh a anam dílis.