By Edna Walshe

Killarney Legion GAA are saddened to hear of the passing of Johnny Culloty.

A current Club vice-president, he held the position of President and took pride in passing on the honour to neighbours the late Weeshie Fogarty and Tommy Regan thereafter.

And while that honour fell to Johnny in later years it was his lifelong achievements that made him stand out as arguably the town's greatest achiever in the colours of Kerry.

He won five All Ireland Senior Football championship medals and was the winning captain for Kerry 21st triumph in 1969.

He was part of a Kerry team that won eight Munster titles in a row from 1958 to 1965 and added four more in the years outside that to bring his total to 12.

Although he won the majority of his medals as a goalkeeper it was in the forwards that Johnny initially made his name playing in the 1954 All Ireland minor final alongside Tom Long and the great poet Brendan Kennelly.

A call up soon followed to the senior team in 1955, which culminated in a surprise win for the Kingdom with Johnny praised for his performance in the full forward line

A serious knee injury the following year saw him make the transition to goalkeeper and he got his chance when Marcus O’Neill ( once of Killarney Legion) was unavailable.

He would make a few outfield appearances thereafter but the move to between the posts became permanent from 1958 onwards.

His haul of five medals would surely have been greater were it not for the emergence of the Down team of 1960/61 and the great Galway team of 1964/65/66.

Winning four County Championships with East Kerry opened the door for Johnny to captain Kerry, a huge honour in 1969.

The year finished on the steps of the Hogan Stand after beating Offaly in the final, the first Killarney Legion man to bring the Sam Maguire to Killarney.

The following year Johnny collected his fifth medal defeating Meath in the final. He also accumulated five National league titles in that time.

Johnny did not confine his inter-county talents to Gaelic Football .

He won National Hurling league titles with Kerry and an All-Ireland Junior Medal in 1961. with the late great Mick Mackey once speaking glowingly of the goalkeeper's talent.

At club level, with Killarney and St Pats, he won one Senior County Hurling Championship, three Minor championships and four Intermediate championships.

When his playing career finished he took to management, managing Kerry to three national League titles and one Munster Championship, before handing the reins over to Mick O’Dwyer.

He would later return as a selector under Jack O’Connor in the mid 2000s helping the Kingdom annex another two All-Irelands and two National Leagues.

An all round sportsman who could put his hand to any game Johnny was also a part of the Busby Babes , the Killarney basketball team who won numerous town leagues and championships , peaking in 1967 when they won the Senior County Championship.

Playing alongside his great friends and neighbours Weeshie Fogarty and Tadghie Fleming they went on to represent the county and defeat the famed Neptune in the Munster Championship.

A keen golfer and cyclist he rarely rested and up to the winter of this year was a regular user of the Club Gym.

And while all his achievements at National level are well documented it would be incalculable to even attempt to measure his influence within Killarney Legion.

This writer remembers a period when the club Under 14 boys team won seven East Kerry titles in a row in the 1980s, all coached by Johnny.

At the time the juvenile players may not have been aware of the enormity of their coaches reputation throughout the country and Johnny certainly didn't broadcast it either, given his modest and unassuming manner.

But what he did pass on was his huge understanding of the game and his astuteness always stood out.

He was an ever present every day in the club grounds in Direen and was always on hand to lend advice to any player or coach.
He was involved in numerous teams all his Legion life and served as Club chairman too. In later years he was a driving force, alongside his partner in crime Pat Healy, in the clubs Development Committee, and the current facilities are the fruits of the work Johnny and his cohorts put in.

Funeral details
Reposing at O'Shea's Funeral Home, Killarney on Wednesday evening from 3.30pm to 6.30pm followed by removal to St Mary's Cathedral. Requiem Mass on Thursday morning at 10.30am, burial afterwards in Aghadoe Lawn Cemetery

Johhny his survived by his beloved wife Joan and much loved father of Brid, Donal, Orla, Seán and the late baby Marie.

Sadly missed and dearly loved by his family, son-in-law Kevin Griffin, daughters-in-law Lynda and Anne, his grandchildren Bryan, Kyle, Emma, Conor, Ana, Evie, Lauren, Matthew, Jack, Fionn and Cillian, his sister Joan Cronin, brother-in-law Noel, niece Siobhán, nephews Pat, John Mark, relatives, neighbours, his many friends and his beloved Legion GAA Club.