Kerry today bid an emotional final farewell to a man who was described at his Requiem Mass as a true master of the craft of sports journalism.
Fittingly, Eamon Horan, a legendary personality who was the chief Gaelic games correspondent with The Kerryman for over 40 years, was escorted on his last journey from St John’s Church to New Rath Cemetery, in his native Tralee, by a number of former Kerry greats on whose playing exploits he wrote regularly, accurately and beautifully.
Apart from a brief spell with the Irish Press, the hugely popular and respected wordsmith, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 87, spent the vast majority of his working days with The Kerryman at its former base in Clash.
During a long and successful career, he reported on so many games, from underage club matches to All-Ireland finals, and every marking was treated with the same professionalism and approach and Eamon’s accounts of what was happening between the white lines were always engaging.
Celebrant Fr Bernard Healy told the congregation that Eamon was a man of the people who was well known throughout the county and further afield.
“A sociable gentleman, a man with a beautiful tenor voice, he touched the lives of many,” he said.
“He was someone who put into words and expressed all the passion, and the interest and the scientific enthusiasm we have for sports in this country,” Fr Healy said.
In a tribute at the close of the Mass, Eamon’s long-time colleague, retired Kerryman sports editor, John Barry, said for most of his time with the paper, from 1959 to 2005, Eamon was his right-hand man.
“Whether it was writing reports or subbing reports, he was the ultimate professional and recognised as such,” he said,
“You know a good journalist when you don’t have to change a comma in his work – that was Eamon Horan,” said Mr Barry who thanked Eamon for his great professionalism, his great loyalty and his great friendship.
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