Cathal Dowd
De La Salle Football Club honoured a club legend today, announcing the renaming of their Williamstown Complex to Billy Hearne Park in tribute to the late Billy Hearne.
Described by many within the club as hugely influential and one of their greatest ever clubmen, Billy was involved in all sides of De La Salle FC up until his passing in December 2024.
The announcement and unveiling of the Billy Hearne Park sign brought a large crowd of club members and people from the wider Waterford Football League.
On the year of the club’s 50th anniversary, they have already had the chance to celebrate the opening of a new astro turf training facility earlier this month, and this latest event meant everything to those who had seen the club through many of those 50 years alongside Billy.
‘Colossus of our club’
Club chairman David Ahearne spoke to WLR on how important Billy was to the development of De La Salle FC. ” We are here to remember Billy Hearne, who was a colossus of our club; he had a massive influence. We are 50 years in existence, and he has been an integral part for nearly all of those 50 years, so this crowd is a testament to what a great guy he was”.
On the decision to name the ground after him, David made it clear there was never a doubt in anyone’s mind that it would be the case, “He was Mr. De La Salle for all of us, even us older fellas, he was coaching us when we were kids. He has been a constant club and a real driving force within it, so it was a very easy decision”.
Billy’s family was in attendance to see his name permanently displayed at the ground and club, to which he gave so much of his time.
His children, Dan and Lydia Hearne, said they both felt great “pride” on the occasion, and while the renaming was very appreciated, their father never looked for recognition or praise in his actions, “We feel we are reaping the rewards for his kindness and commitment to the club and others, but that was never his thing, he always told us to do things for others and not expect anything in return, so I think he would be a mix of awkward, humbled and proud.”
Dan then joked about how much of his time went to helping at the club, “We keep talking about how great he was, but he was never there in the midweek”, adding, “It never felt like a commitment to him, he loved it and lived it”.
‘Great character and excellent coach’
Billy played, coached, and was a committee member at DeLa Salle. He was also a goalkeeping coach for Waterford FC for many years and was a part of the coaching staff behind Waterford’s SSE Airtricity U-19 League title triumph in 2019. Waterford FC chief operating officer Richy Walsh said at the time of Billy’s passing, “Billy was a fantastic man, a great character and an excellent coach. A real footballing man who gave so much to football and players over the years, especially within our own club and his beloved De La Salle FC”.
Waterford Schoolboys Chairman David Cullen was one of the many coached by Billy over the years in his youth and had nothing but admiration for his former manager, “He was great, so knowledgeable, full of enthusiasm, just a joy to play for and a gentleman. I learnt a lot from him over the years. He just wanted us to always play football and never give up”.
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