Page 36 - Lansdowne Yearbook 2020-21 Master Digital Edition

and infectious humour. I texted him after such a magnificent man and the love Moss
the 2008 All Ireland when Tyrone beat Kerry had for Anne, Sarah, Ann Marie and his adored
‘Very dissappointing’. He immediately replied, grandchild.
‘There is only one s in disappointing’. Some say
Muhammad Ali was the Greatest but for me it Des recalls a visit from Moss during his illness:
will always be my friend Moss.’ There was no discussion about his own
condition and the ultimate challenge he was
Moss was a GOAL patron for 30 years. GOAL facing over the last months of his life even
founder John O’ Shea paid Moss this tribute though we all knew, the conversation was
‘He travelled overseas with Goal And visited driven by the desire to help and support
our street children’s programme in Calcutta, another on their journey. (Luke has just
where he was visibly moved by what he saw. undergone a serious operation). When time
He was a magnificent humanitarian. Goal has came for Moss to go as he ambled out the
lost a great champion and the poor have lost a front door, he decided to share his assessment
wonderful friend.’ of the contribution of the Fitzgerald clan to
Irish rugby: -
On a personal level I remember Moss’s
thoughtfulness. The night before my wife, ‘Luke was a man possessed of great speed and
Eugenie, and I emigrated to Australia in 1982 skill and he could side step you in a phone
Moss arrived up to the house to bid farewell box, he has won a grand slam, a Heineken Cup
and during our time in Perth we received and the Magners league all in the one year
regular letters from Moss one of which is a whereas you Dessie, stepped on more players
treasured possession. In it he wrote: (your own included) than any man I know, won
‘There is nothing exciting to relate except of absolutely nothing for Ireland so therefore
course that Wanderers beat the shite out of us in all honesty I think the only noteworthy
in the Cup – the first time in 9 years that ‘yours contribution you made to Irish rugby was
truly’ was on a losing side to that shower. in the bedroom!’ He went off chuckling,
As you can imagine there was a lot of gargle delighted with his coup de grace and into the
downed in the last couple of months – I would ever-narrowing world that lay ahead of him.
say 200% higher than normal for that time of My memory of him will always be of a gentle
year.(Ireland had just won the Triple Crown). giant, a good and decent man with simple
I even appeared on the Mike Murphy Show beliefs and a propensity to always think of
acting the bolllix as usual. He took the piss of others and support them in whatever way he
course but it was all a one-day wonder.’ could.

I had the great pleasure of spending a huge In the final paragraph of his autobiography
amount of time with Moss during the writing Moss, when asked how he’d like to be
of his autobiography ‘Rucks, Mauls and Gaelic remembered said ‘ I’d like to think that success
Football’. We had some craic revisiting old never went to my head and that if someone,
memories, spending time in Currow and trying somewhere was asked they might say, ‘Moss
to keep the peace between Moss and his ghost Keane? – Ah sure he did his best.’
writer, Billy Keane, no easy task I may say.
Someone once said to me that when God
Our friendship lasted right through to his made Moss, he threw away the mould. Never
death. Des Fitzgerald and I made weekly has a truer word been spoken.
visits to his home in the months before he Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.
died. Moss never lost his deep faith and was
convinced that he would conquer the illness.
His family asked me to speak at his removal, a
task I felt entirely unworthy of. It was a great
honour to speak to the packed church about

36 YEARBOOK 2020-2021