their last National League success when routing Roscommon in the Croke Park final although their semi-final victory over Kerry in Ennis was the real highlight of that series. The same year he and his charges had to endure the shock of a Connacht championship defeat when Willie Nally and Willie Joe Padden of Mayo "caught all around them" but the following year Galway were desperately disappointed to lose out to Offaly in the 1982 semi-final before going all the way to the final in the infamous decider of 1983 when Dublin edged Galway out. In the years after he was always willing to help out with under-age teams and threw in his lot with John Tobin's minor winning team of 1986 where his experience and cool ahead proved to be an invaluable asset to the management team. Mattie McDonagh died at the age of 68 on 10 April 2005. Tributes poured in from GAA colleagues and officials including GAA president Seán Kelly, who said that the Association was greatly saddened by his loss. He was buried in his native Ballygar soil. Honours Ballygar Galway Senior Football Championship: Winner (0): Runner-up (2): 1957, 1958, 1961 Galway All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Winner (4): 1956, 1964, 1965, 1966 Runner-up (2): 1959, 1963 Connacht Senior Football Championship: Winner (10): 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968 Runner-up (2): 1961, 1962 National Football League: Winner (2): 1956–57, 1964–65 Runner-up (1): 1966-67 Connacht Railway Cup: Winner (1): 1958 References 1936 births 2005 deaths Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Ballygar Gaelic footballers Ballygar hurlers Connacht inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Dual players Gaelic football forwards Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers Irish schoolteachers Texaco Footballers of the Year Winners of four All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)