The Hall of Fame is an honour that may be bestowed upon a people within the county who have given outstanding service and brought honour to the Association in Down. In the past, we have honoured Pat Rooney, Dr Martin Walsh, Sean O’Neill, Peter McGrath, Noel Keith and Tom O’Hare.
On Saturday, we bestowed this accolade on Colm McAlarney, for his outstanding contribution to Down football on the field of play. Regarded as one of the true greats of his time, he emerged from the successful minor side of 1966 to quickly establish himself as one of the leading figures at senior level in the red and black. Perhaps his finest hour came in 1968 when he won All-Ireland, Ulster Championship and National League medals and was man of the match in that memorable final victory over Kerry at Croke Park.
He was twice honoured with selection on the GAA Allstar teams, and he added Ulster Championship medals in 1971, 1978 and 1981. He is also the only player to win Railway Cup medals in three different decades, and he played with distinction at club level for Liatroim Fontenoys and Castlewellan.
But above all, Colm is regarded as one of our finest players, an outstanding athlete, a role model, a sportsman who earned the admiration and respect of fellow players across Ireland; and a gentleman.
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