It was with great shock and profound sadness that all in Abbeyside / Ballinacourty GAA Club learned yesterday of the death of our Club President Bernard Shields.  Bernard was the epitome of the phrase ‘club stalwart.’  

As a player, Bernard was a valued member of many of the great teams that brought glory to the club in the 1960s.  He played in every match on our way to the 1964 County Senior Hurling Final, was a member of the panel that won the County Intermediate Football Final a year later and starred at corner back on the Abbeyside team that proved victorious in the inaugural County U21 Hurling Championship of 1966.

After hanging up his boots, Bernard moved into administration, serving ably as club secretary for over two decades.  He also led the club as chairman for a number of years before receiving the honour of Club President when his term came to an end.  However, his involvement did not end there.  If anything needed to be done at the club grounds, Bernard was always on hand to help.  He was an ever-present at club and county games in Waterford and indeed all over the country.  His contribution to his beloved Abbeyside / Ballinacourty was immense, a tradition proudly continued by his family today.

We offer our deepest sympathies to Bernard’s wife, Moll, his sons Kevin, Johnny, Páidi, Séamus and Henry, his sisters Margaret, Kathleen, Breege and Rita and the extended Shields family.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.