George Bagnall - A Tribute
It was with great sadness last Friday, 3rd March that we were informed of the sudden death of lifetime club member George ( Georgie ) Bagnell.
Over the past 45 years George was instrumental, along with other distinguished past and present members , in moulding Celbridge GAA into the club that make us all so proud of being a part of today .
George was a club stalwart both on and off the field. He played for Celbridge GAA when we were only a junior club in the late 70s, with Celbridge only having a population of approximately 3000 people at the time, and had considerable success and involvement with teams bringing Celbridge from Junior B to Senior in the early 1980s. In 1986 George captained Celbridge to win the Junior A championship and also the Jack Higgins Cup (defeat our close neighbours Straffan). In that year Celbridge had the distinction of competing in Division 1 of the Senior league while still being a junior club and were narrowly beaten in the Leader Cup final by a strong Sarsfields team. This was all under the leadership and drive of George and to this day no team has replicated this achievement.
Georgie and the late great Owen Skipper Murphy in 1982 Georgie about to pull the trigger
St.Conleth's Pk after winning the junior B championship,
defeating Nurney in the Final.
The following year of 1987 George also was part of team that won the Intermediate Championship and granted Celbridge senior football status. As a player George was totally committed, tough and selfless and had an eye for goal when the opportunity presented itself. Although a native of his beloved Robertstown, George was Celbridge GAA to the core and took great pride and satisfaction in what we as a club had achieved both on and off the field over the years.
The 1993 Celbridge Team.
Off the field of play when his playing days had come to an end George was forever present when the need arose for volunteers. No matter what the task was George would be one of the first to raise his hand ranging from fundraising, security, groundworks or general cleanup - no task was too big or small. George was truly a Celbridge GAA legend and will be sorely missed by all of us and by the general Celbridge community as a whole. Gone but never forgotten 🔵⚪️
