Former Tyrone footballer Jody Gormley passes away after short ...
Jody Gormley during his time as Trillick manager
The former Tyrone footballer Jody Gormley has died following a short illness.
The 53-year-old was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer in September, having suffered a stroke while on holiday earlier in the year. But he continued to manage his club team Trillick and they reached a Tyrone final in October, losing to Errigal Ciaran by a point. Errigal went on to win the Ulster title, beating Kilcoo in Armagh's Athletic Grounds yesterday.
Gormley informed the Trillick players after the county final defeat of his illness and the prognosis he had been given.
In the days that followed he did a series of interviews, telling BBC that he had "no fear of dying. No fear of dying whatsoever. I've felt blessed my entire life," he said.
"The sadness is the people you're leaving behind. That I'll not get to see my son, he's training hard with Trillick, he's come back after a couple of years, that I'll not get to see him play and I'll not get to see my family grow up and mature. That's not scary but sad really."
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Gormley was midfield on the Tyrone team that lost to Dublin by a point in the 1995 All-Ireland football final. He later managed the Antrim footballers and coached Down.
His death was confirmed by his brother Damien on Twitter this evening who stated that he had passed away peacefully.
He is survived by his wife Deirdre and children Aine, James and Niamh.
