Portuguese Ribeiro was a pillar of Carlow rugby
A pillar of Co. Carlow Football Club - Manuel A. do Valle Ribeiro - was laid to rest on Thursday, closing a chapter involving some of the longest-servers at Oak Park.
A native of Portugal, who arrived in Carlow in '64, Dr. Ribeiro (91) was club president in the '72-'73 season and the devoted fixtures secretary of the club until he left to reside with his daughter in Galway.
He was, and still is, the only nonnative to act as president, and was team secretary for a spell also; he one of the few to keep a detailed statistical analysis of club teams during that term.
He represented the club in the South East and was involved in Leinster as well; a major challenge to produce the club's fixtures for the season and was manager of the '72 Anderson Cup-winning team captained by Seamus Mahon.
He was also charged with producing the Co. Carlow annual fixtures booklet which added considerably to club funds and never short of takers for the advertising pages.
He left Carlow for Galway three years ago to be close to daughter Margarida, but was invited back to Carlow last season where he was presented with a scroll by the rugby club in recognition of his many years of service.
He brought to Oak Park his deep love of sport, having been one of the founding members of the famous Sporting Clube de Portugal in Lisbon which was widely recognised for athletics and football.
As a student in the University Instituto Superior de Agromomia in the capital he played three-quarters for the faculty of agriculture team and was elected president of the athletic association of Lisbon and later an executive committee member of the Sporting Clube.
Dr. Ribeiro took his PhD at Cambridge in '61 and returned to his native land to be a leader in reforming the Sporting Clube's athletics arm for which he won widespread acclaim.
He joined the plant breeding department of An Foras Talutas in '64 where he headed a team which made significant contribution to that area, and was not long in town when his reputation in Lisbon sporting circles brought an invitation to join Co. Carlow FC.
He retired officially from AFT when 68 but maintained a deep interest in the Oak Park research centre for some time.
In his inaugural presidential address he noted that he was merely reciprocating the contribution of Irishman Hugh O'Neill who was president of his own native club.
He chaired the centenary committee and the highlight of his tenure was the Wolfhounds v President's Selection match. Players from the four home unions and Canada participated including Ian McLoughlin, Tom Grace, Tony Ensor, Sean Lynch, Willie Duggan, Josh McTavish, Mick Quinn and Gerry Culleton.
He was predeceased by his wife Maria Emilia in 2004 and is survived by son Pedro and daughters Margarida and Maria, many other relatives. He was interred in the family grave in St. Mary's Cemetery on Thursday.
