Former Offaly football manager Fr. Tom Scully dies after contracting coronavirus

Former Offaly senior football manager Father Tom Scully has died after contracting coronavirus.

Father Scully was in charge of the Offaly team that reached the 1969 All-Ireland final, which they lost to Kerry by three points.

The Leinster title that they won that year, by beating Kildare in the final by five points, was just the third in the county’s history after the breakthrough wins of 1960 and ‘61.

The Tullamore native was then transferred overseas and was succeeded for the 1970 campaign by Alo Kelly who was then joined by Father Tom Gilhooley the following year as Offaly won their first senior All-Ireland in 1971, a title they retained in 1972.

Having spent much of his clerical career abroad, Father Scully, who was named Offaly Person of the Year in 1989, spent his latter years in Dublin where he contracted COVID-19 and died this morning.