Mr Delaney was the father of former FAI chief executive John Delaney.
A father of five and grandfather to nine, Mr Delaney will be remembered as a “hero” and “a great man,” mourners heard.
His funeral mass was said by his brother.
Joe Delaney was a life member of the FAI, former chairman of Waterford United FC, an honorary president of Munster Football Association and honorary life president of Saint Michael’s FC in Tipperary.
Joe Delaney
A stand is named in his honour at Turner’s Cross in Cork City.
The requiem mass for the prominent figure in Irish football administration took place at St Michael’s Church in Tipperary Town this afternoon.
He died less than 12 months after his wife, Joan, who was described as his “best friend”.
His son, former FAI chief executive John Delaney, said it had been “a difficult time” for the family, to lose their father so shortly after the death of their mother.
Mr Delaney described his father as “a great man who had always been in our lives and always been there for us, who had cheated death on a number of occasions, had passed from this world to be with mam again”.
“A working-class boy looking for a break in life, his personal break came when he met my mother Joan, a lady who he immediately fell in love with. It was a true love affair,” Mr Delaney said.
“Dad spoke movingly – probably about 15 feet from where I stand now – in August, about his life partner and his love for her.
The funeral of Joe Delaney at St Michael’s Church in Tipperary Town. Photo: Fergal Phillips
“They were 68 years together, almost 58 years married, five children, nine grandchildren. In truth, he was totally brokenhearted when after nearly 25,000 days together, from Waterford, to Naas, to Clonmel, Waterville, Thomastown and then Kingswell, where he lived a really happy life with Mam, they travelled around the world.”
“But he lived less than 330 days after she passed,” Mr Delaney said. “The only genuine comfort for me is that they are together again.”
Mr Delaney said his father’s “proudest moment in football” came when Waterford FC won the FAI Senior Cup.
The funeral of Joe Delaney at St Michael’s Church in Tipperary Town. Photo: Fergal Phillips
He described the friendship his father shared with Jack Charlton, and the time Manchester United star Shay Brennan stayed in their house for six-and-a-half years.
Mourners heard how Mr Delaney even painted his gate yellow-and-black to signal his support for Kilkenny hurlers.
“We’ve been through a lot together – Dad and I – in business, in sport, in life. He is, in truth, my hero. I’ve met many, many people in my varied life, in Ireland, the UK, across Europe, and he had the sharpest mind, the quickest wit I’ve ever met of anyone,” Mr Delaney said.
Independent TD Michael Lowry attends the funeral of Joe Delaney at St Michael’s Church in Tipperary Town. Photo: Fergal Phillips
He added: “Most importantly, he was always there for me, particularly when I needed it most. And he instilled in me my love of sport: the blue of Waterford, the red of Manchester United, the green of Ireland and the love of St Michael’s Football Club.”
The Tipperary club provided a guard of honour for Joe Delaney this morning.
Symbols of Mr Delaney’s life and “love of sport” were brought to the altar, including a photo of himself and his wife on their wedding day, a photo of Joe and Jack Charlton, multiple family photos, a photo of his racing horse, and a Kilkenny jersey.
Mr Delaney was predeceased by his wife Joan and sister Edith and is survived by his children Joanne, John, Paul, Mary-Pat and Jane, as well as his brothers Jim and Fr John, and grandchildren Joan, Thomas, Eve, Catherine, Ethan, Isabelle, Holly-Jo, Darcy and Josephine.
Speaking from the altar, his brother, Fr John Delaney, said meeting Joan was one of the greatest moments of Joe’s life.
“When Joan went, a good part of Joe’s life went with her,” he said. “We saw that in many ways, but yet he made do with what happened in many good ways too. Because life goes on.
“We do not for one moment think that life is ever the same, because the fact is when you lose your best friend, you lose an awful lot in life itself.”
He said his brother had a “tremendous heart” and would often go above and beyond to solve the problems of others.
“Joe travelled the world and, indeed, he travelled it with one person only and that was Joan,” he said. “He would never want to be away from her, where he was going she had to go.
“Of course, in that great loyalty and friendship, they were never separated. They were so united, that their journey had to be one.”
