Gaels from Fermanagh and indeed Ulster have been mourning the passing of Gerry Gallagher, well-known former U-21 captain and underage county manager.

Gerry Gallagher (73) passed away on Monday in the Palliative Care Unit in Omagh.

The Erne Gaels clubman captained Fermanagh to an All-Ireland U21 final in 1971 and played senior football for the county in a period from 1970-1980 and scored 2-01 in his debut for Fermanagh on Armagh’s Tom McCreesh on his senior debut for the county in 1971.

He was also a Fermanagh minor football manager in the 1990s and was recognized widely as a gifted tactician who thought deeply about the game he loved.

A major figure with his native Erne Gaels clubs, Gerry Gallagher played a huge role in the club’s two county championship successes in 1979 and 1981.

He captained the team in ’79 and his switch to midfield in the ’81 final in the second half turned the game in his club’s favour.

Gerry Gallagher managed Erne Gaels at senior and underage levels and was a driving force in the club, developing its pitch which was re-opened in 2001 and was involved in major fund-raising for the club and was a passionate advocate for the club as a county board delegate.

A graduate of St. Joseph’s Teacher Training College in Belfast, he taught in Ballygawley, County Tyrone and once coached a team that contained Mickey Harte in 1973.

And he coached Ballygawley to a Tyrone county final in 1989.