Eamonn Fitzgerald pays tribute to a gentle Glenflesk man who manned the turnstiles with courtesy and patience.

Players, managers, selectors, and referees get most of the attention at games, but one forgets too often the other people who conduct their business so efficiently in a quiet manner. It is not so much that we mean to ignore them, but they are taken for granted far too often, and their voluntary work goes unheeded.

I think of board and club officers who make all the arrangements and, without them, games would not go ahead.

This is a big weekend for fixtures in the local All-Ireland. Sam is resting proudly in the Kingdom, East Kerry are county champions as are Rathmore, Fossa, and Firies, but there is still the real local All-Ireland title up for grabs and those unanswered important questions. Who will be crowned O’Donoghue Cup champions for 2022, and who will have the prestigious honour of captaining Kerry in 2023 in defence of their All-Ireland title?

As patrons approach the entrances at the various venues for this weekend’s O’Donoghue Cup games, spare a thought and say a silent prayer of appreciation for the volunteers, who collect the admission charge for entry to the games.

One of those great volunteers for several decades was Dan Favier.

Dan passed away quietly recently in his home at Glenflesk after stewarding at the Fitzgerald Stadium. He had a quiet and gentle nature and handled the frustrations of some supporters who may not have been in the best of humour. The last-minute arrivals didn’t expect such a big attendance. But they should have because King David has been swelling the normal 250 attendance to in excess of 2,500.

Parking spaces are at a premium and the garda cones narrowed the options even further. Then the rush to get in, not knowing whether it was a pre-booked all-ticket game, or if would they take cash at the gate. Have I got my phone? Tech-savvy teenage friends had booked online, but where in the name of God was the icon for scanning?

Frustration mounted as the roar from the crowd inside signalled a goal. It must be a goal. Don’t tell me that Ruairí Murphy, Jameso, Micheál, Tony, Shane, Paul or someone als has struck already and the fat was in the fire after 90 seconds.

Dan Favier handled all of that frustration with a courtesy and a gentleness that smoothed angry tempers.

He will be mourned, not just at the Fitzgerald Stadium but at venues throughout East Kerry and further afield.

The sun wasn’t shining too often yet Dan and volunteers of his ilk were prepared to put up with the vicissitudes of the Kerry climate. Imagine standing at pokey turnstiles at the Fitzgerald Stadium, not just for one hour but anything up to three hours in the draftiest of places as the heavy rains and bitterly cold November winds whipped through the gap. How do they keep warm? How did they put up with the elements at venues where there was no shelter whatsoever?

Dan Favier never shunned the less attractive venues in the county, where he was exposed to the elements yet was as patient and as diligent as ever in collecting the cash. That money will keep the East Kerry Board alive and well-positioned to run off its competitions so efficiently in all grades

So the message is simple: be grateful for the volunteers, who make it all possible for supporters to enjoy the games. Too often are these unpaid officials undervalued.

Dan was one such volunteer, who gave a lifetime of service in his own unassuming way. We can be assured that when he reached the gates, there was no need for identification or scanning the entry ticket.

Tar isteach Dan. Tá fáilte romhat. Go gcúitítear do shaothar leat ar Neamh.