Death of GAA icon Frank Hogan 

 

One of the most familiar institutions of the GAA is no more after the passing of Borrisokane native Frank Hogan.

The name won't hit many straight away but everyone knows of him as he was the man carrying the John 3:7 placard to hurling and football matches around the country for the past forty years or so.

Hail, rain, or shine, the Tipperary native and his yellow sign were a familiar target of sports photojournalists and TV directors.

Hogan's sign was a verse from the gospel of John chapter 3 verse 7: “Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again’” — which was a message about hope and forgiveness.

Mr Hogan, a born again christian, and his wife Myrna previously had separated, and following this he had a divine encounter when his life was changed completely on reading a verse from the Bible. The couple later reunited, and Myrna was caring for him at their home in Castletroy right up to Frank’s passing last Saturday. 

His popularity among the wider GAA family, transcended all county lines. Although his roots were in Borrisokane, he was regarded as a staunch Limerick hurling supporter.
After moving to Shannonside with his parents when he was a child, he found a job as a tailor in McGoverns Menswear, William Street, a few yards his family’s restaurant Hogan’s on High Street.

Whenever a sliotar sailed between the posts, or a net was rattled, Hogan’s sign was almost always there staring back. 

A heart attack kept him from hauling his sign to Croke Park for his beloved Limerick’s historic All Ireland hurling final victory in 2018.

Hogan, 81, is also survived by his son Jason and daughter Natasha. Frank Hogan's funeral took place on Tuesday and was laid to rest in Mount St Lawrence Extension Cemetery, Limerick. Ar dheis De for raibh a h-anam.