When the great success of the Passage football team of the early 1980’s is recalled, two names immediately spring to mind. The names were those of Terry Howard and Brian Geary who were responsible for the greatest transformation of any team in the history of the club. Terry, of course, was the coach and motivation and Brian was the quiet but very astute man on the sideline who seemed to be able to see all the moves required to win big matches.

Having played under-age hurling and football with Passage, Brian’s playing career came to an abrupt end when his work took him, first to Galway and then to Dublin. When he returned to Cork after seven years in “exile” he did not resume his playing career but he did not waste any time in getting involved in the administrative affairs of the Passage club. This should not have come as a major surprise as his older brothers Seán and Hugh, were already deeply immersed in club activities. His father John was also a very loyal supporter of the Passage club.

In 1973 Brian became a senior hurling selector and from them until his untimely and tragic death in 2004, he had the unique distinction of being a selector with every Passage adult hurling and football team including under-21. He also became the only representative of the Passage club to act as a selector with both Seandún hurling and football teams and was also a selector with the Cork junior football team in 1983.

It would be universally agreed by all those who operated as mentors with Brian on various Passage selection committees, that he had an uncanny ability to spot weaknesses in his own team or in the opposition, but more importantly to act on his observations without delay.

Probably the greatest testimony to Brians affinity to the Passage club was the fact that he lived outside the area for over 35 years but he had no doubt that there was only one club for him. He made no secret of the fact that the proudest moment in his illustrious career was when he became chairman of his beloved club in 1977 and was leader again in 1978.