This article is from page 4 of the 2013-07-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE Broadford and wider East Clare community was plunged into shock over the weekend following the untimely death of noted sportsman and community activist Tony Marsh following a tragic accident.
Seventy-year-old Mr Marsh was killed on Saturday morning when he was kicked by a horse. The tragedy occurred at around 10am in a field adjacent to his home in Main Street, Broadford.
Many tributes have been paid to Mr Marsh in the intervening days, with local community leader PJ Mason telling The Clare People that he was “a great parish man” and a “huge loss” to everyone in the village and beyond.
“Everyone in Broadford feels like they’ve lost a member of their fam- ily,” said Mr Mason. “He was tee-totaller, didn’t smoke and lived a very active life. He loved set dancing and was a great parish in every way possible.
“He lost his older brother in 1984 after an accident and then he lost his son just over three years ago. His family has suffered more than it’s fair share of tragedy.
“He was a local postman for 40 years and was very involved in hurl- ing and was an outstanding sportsman of his time and very competitive on and off the field in that he demanded high standards from everyone and from himself,” he added.
Mr Marsh had the distinction of being on the first ever Clare Under 21 hurling team that contested the first championship in the grade in 1964.
He played minor hurling for the county in 1960 and ’61, while his senior competitive debut came in a National League tie against Cork in October 1963.
He made his senior championship debut at full-back in the 4-14 to 26 win over Limerick in 1964. He was also a member of the team that contested the 1966 National League semi-final against Tipperary when Clare were beaten 3-14 to 4-7.
Away from the hurling field Mr Marsh was an outstanding horseman and a founder member of the East Clare Harriers in 1974, serving as Master of the hunt for a dozen years.
“He loved hunting and horses and it was a great passion in his life,” said Mr Mason. “He would have taken part in Hunt Chase at the RDS horseshow for a number of years. It’s a huge shock to the community.
“The most deceiving headline of all is that he’s being described as a 70year-old man.
“He was anything but a 70-year-old man, he was more like a 35-yearold in terms of energy, attitude and way of life. The description of his age doesn’t do him justice at all – he was so active and so energetic,” he added.