Eamonn Duignans citation on Marie Lee who was the recipient of the Jim Lynch Hall of Fame Award at the Leitrim GAA Awards night:-
"The Jim Lynch Hall of Fame Award is sponsored by the Leitrim Supporters in Dublin in honour of one of its founding members, & former county player of the 50/60s Jim Lynch.
This award means a lot to the supporters in Dublin, & to the recipients who are recognised for a lifetime of service & contribution to the GAA. The award also means a lot to the Lynch family. So I would like to especially welcome Jim/Martina who is with us tonight attending
The Award Winner
When Gerry McGovern informed me who this years winner of the Hall of Fame Award winner was, I did what I always do and put the winners name into the computer to complete a Google search.
I am quoting directly from the Google search as follows,
‘In the 1988 issue of the Leitrim Guardian are photos of Marie Lee ,an attractive ‘PERKY looking woman who was chosen as the Leitrim Personality of the year .Unsure of the meaning of the word Perky I had to find out more information on our Hall of Fame Award winner. Perky is defined as jaunty, lively, spirited, cheery and confident.
Marie Lee is a devoted wife to her husband Jackie, a caring mother to her eleven children Patricia, Antoinette, Ciaran, Jacinta, Fiona, Conor, Vincent, Adrian, David, Emmett & Naomi.
Not only was she a caring mother she was always very special to the pupils she taught in KilnÓgross, Aghacashel, Keshcarrigan & Drumcong. Apart from her home & her career Marie takes time to be special to many others through her involvement in numerous organisations in Kiltubrid and in particular to the youth of the area who hold her in the highest regard.
Her involvement in Athletics and football in encouraging the youth to participate in sports over a lifetime is evident in all the awards her pupils have won. The list of successes is long stretching back to 1975 & 1976 when Kesh School won the Leitrim Cross Country Championship. Drumcong school was the first Leitrim School to win the Connacht title in cross county in 1989.
In football Kiltubrid won u-12, u-14, u-16, minor titles in both boys & girls, and Kitubrid ladies won Junior A in 2002, Senior B in 2004 & 2005.Drumcong School played in the Connacht final both boys and girls in 1990.
When Kiltubrid won the Leitrim senior championship in 2005 almost all the team were past pupils of Marie Lee.
It was athletics one day football the next. We must mention Lees minibus, with Marie the pilot arriving at venues throughout the county when the school teams or Kiltubrid Juvenile teams are in action. It was of course not only a minibus. It was the first meals on wheels mobile in the greater Kiltubrid area, as Marie would often arrive with a bus load of children including her own eating as they drove and avoiding any delay inÓgetting to their destination. When the bus arrived it resembles a bee hive as the seemingly endless supply of children emerged from the bus. It was the only bus in Leitrim that never refused to start and the engine was warm 24/7.
For a long number of years Marie has been a most efficient secretary of the Leitrim GAA Supporters Club. She sells over 100 supporters club memberships in Kiltubrid every year and is always first back with her tickets sold.
Maries contribution to Leitrim has been recognized, when she won the Leitrim Personality of the Year award in 1986; in 1987 she was awarded the Sports Advisory Committee Award for Special Achievements, and in 1988 the Leitrim Guardian Person of the Year.
Twenty years later here we are inducting Marie in to the Jim Lynch Hall of Fame. In the very first edition of the Leitrim Guardian Michael Fox stated ‘Leaders are needed and everyone who can provide leadership must be prevailed upon to do so. Marie Lee is a leader. But she does not have to be prevailed upon to lead .She is a leader of her own volition. Ladies and gentlemen this years winner of the Jim Lynch Hall of Fame award is a very special person, Marie Lee Kiltubrid."
26-Jan-10 by Colette Fox – PRO
