GAA Director General Tony Ryan says that the late Liam O’Neill left an “indelible mark on the organisation”.

Mr O’Neill passed on Tuesday and tributes have been pouring in since for the Laois man who served as GAA’s 37th president from 2012 to 2015.

His funeral mass takes place this Saturday at 12 noon at St Fintan's Church, Raheen followed by burial of his ashes in the adjoining cemetery.

Speaking to GAA.ie this week, the Director General joined the chorus of condolences which have been pouring in from across the GAA world.

"When I first started working for the GAA, Liam was the chairperson of Leinster, so I worked with him for a long time with both of us filling different roles in the period since," Ryan explained.

"I always enjoyed working with him. He was a very personable man, with a lovely, wry sense of humour. I learnt an awful lot from him and valued his guidance greatly.

"I fondly recall meeting him on many occasions in Netwatch Dr Cullen Park as someone who would have been a friend of Carlow GAA."

He added: "Remarkably his time as President coincided with those three replays which was incredible, not least because we hadn't had one in so long. It was unprecedented.

"He was a passionate advocate for hurling, and Laois hurling in particular, but his influence extended right across our wide range of activities.

"He had a great vision for the future of the Association and where it was going to go and he left an indelible mark on the organisation long after this tenure as President.

"I would like to offer my sympathies to his wife Áine, children Caoimhe, Ciarán and Clíodhna and his wider family and circle of friends."

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