John Dowling (c1931 - 2002 )

President of the Gaelic Athletic Association 1988 to 1991.
John Dowling was born in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland,  in 1931.  Although he never excelled as a player he made his name in refereeing which brought him to national prominence and a lifelong association with the Gaelic Athletic Association.

He started his life in sport as a player for his native Tullamore.

In 1960 he was chosen as the man in the middle for both the hurling and football All-Ireland Senior Finals.  Wexford defeated Tipperary in the hurling and Down beat Kerry in the football.

He refereed a total of five All-Ireland finals, three in hurling and two in football.  He was also in charge of four provincial finals and league finals during a distinguished refereeing career.

 As an administrator he served Offaly County for more than 20 years.  During his time with the Offaly County Board, both the county's footballers and hurlers enjoyed much success, John was Secretary of the County when Offaly won their first All-Irelands in football (1971) and hurling (1981).

In 1988 he became the thirteenth President of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the first Offaly man to have the position.  He was responsible for the acquisition of more land which made the current development of Croke Park sports ground possible.

He passed away in the Mater Private Hospital, Dublin, Ireland on 9th February 2002.  As a mark of respect, Offaly's scheduled league division 1 clash with Cork and the Walsh Cup semi-final, against Wexford in Birr were both postponed, as were all Offaly domestic matches in the county.

All over Ireland before all GAA matches on the 10th February crowds observed a minutes silence in respect.

The current GAA President, Sean McCague said, "John Dowling was a truly great servant of the GAA".

He is survived by his wife Mae, sons Kieran and Cormac and his daughters Fionnuala and Blaithin.

Source: 
http://www.hoganstand.com/offaly/2002arts/february/021102.htm
http://breaking.examiner.ie/story.asp?j=11912692&p=yy9yz994&n=11913072&x=1n
http://www.rte.ie/sport/2002/0209/gaa/gaa.html