Club Person of the Year
Enda Walshe is a very deserving addition to the list of great club people who have been presented with the Cooper Cup as Club Person of the Year Award. This honour is well overdue to Enda for all his years of involvement with the club.
Enda grew up in Woodlawn Park, and as his parents Cathal and June had no club affiliation in Killarney, we were lucky that Pat Healy and the late Larry Fagan nabbed him early. His love of ball sports developed on the green area of Woodlawn Park along with his childhood friends such as Timmy Doolan, Ger McGillicuddy,Dara Lehane and his brother Finbarr.
Enda was a member of many successful Legion teams both at East Kerry and County Levels. One of his favoutite memories is recalling a famous U16 local derby with our near neighbours. Legion had a howler of a first half and trailed by 9 points to no score. Pat Healy gave them the Ferguson hairdryer treatment at half time and they went and won the game by 10 points to 9.
After many more years of playing Enda became involved in all other aspects of the club. He organised many successful fundraisers and served as Vice-Chairman, Chairman and is the club’s current PRO. Most of the time that Enda gives to the club goes unnoticed to many. He is continuously involved in all aspects of the club, from cleaning out the dressing rooms to helping out the senior team.
In recent years he has devoted incalculable hours to our senior teams under various managers. It is really only the players that fully realise what he does for them at every session and on match days, also his knowledge of the workings of a senior panel is a huge help to the club Chairperson. Enda was deservedly acknowledged by Padraig Lucey in his O’Donoghue Cup winning speech in 2019 for his extraordinary efforts. He is also held in high esteem at Kerry Co Board level and has been on various review committees and represents Legion very professionally.
He is also involved with St Paul’s Basketball. Ring Of Kerry Cycle, Ross Golf Club as well as being a husband to Breda and father to Rebecca and Amy, who also help out the Legion whenever Enda has a job for anyone of the 3 to do and the girls are active members of Legion ladies. He also finds time to support his beloved Red Devils and loves his trips to Old Trafford.
Enda’s heart is firmly in Legion but also in the community as a whole, this was evident when he had a bench dedicated to the memory of Paddy Turner, a frequent and much loved visitor to Enda’s workplace in Quills. He was instrumental, along with other Legionnaires Jerome O Regan and Jimmy Reen in convincing the Town Council to honour his late friend Weeshie Fogarty with a roundabout named after him outside Fitzgerald Stadium
As with most unsung heroes , Enda goes about his club business quietly with pride and dedication. Enda’s only goals are to represent our club to the best of his ability and lay the foundations for our players to enjoy our facilities, be competitive and successful and most of all “to be proud to be Legion”.