Galway GAA has paid tribute following the death of one of the last surviving members of their 1956 All-Ireland winning football team, Frank Evers.
A native of Menlough in northeast Galway, Evers died in Austria on Sunday aged 91.
He was a key member of the Galway side that won the 1956 All-Ireland senior football title over Cork, partnering Mattie McDonagh in midfield.
As a young child, Evers moved to Westmeath when his father was transferred there as a member of An Garda Síochána.
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He won a Leinster senior colleges medal with Franciscan College, Multyfarnham and a Leinster minor title with Westmeath in 1952, making his senior debut for the county in that year’s league.
Evers followed his father in joining the Gardaí, seeing him return to Galway to live in Tuam, where he enjoyed championship success with Tuam Stars.
In 1956, he helped Galway to their fourth Sam Maguire triumph as the Tribesmen saw off Cork 2-13 to 3-7 in the decider to end the county’s 18-year wait for an All-Ireland senior football title. At one point, Evers had himself regraded down to junior so he could play with Menlough.
His role as a member of An Garda Síochána saw him move to the Middle East to work for the United Nations Truce and Supervisory Organisation at their headquarters in Jerusalem, and he was also an international civil servant, reporting to UN Headquarters in New York during a decorated career.
Evers later settled in Canada before moving to Austria, where his wife Brigette is from, in recent years.
Describing Evers as “an accomplished footballer”, a statement from his native county read: “On behalf of Galway GAA, we express our deepest sympathies to his wife Brigette and the extended Evers family at this sad time.”
“He will be sadly missed by his family, friends and the whole Galway GAA community. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis,” the statement concluded.
