BILLY Munnelly, who has died aged 70, was 'one of the best known Irishmen in Oxford' and played a huge part in Gaelic football and Aunt Sally in the city.

Mr Munnelly came to Oxford in the 1960s as a teenager and was involved with the Eire Og Oxford Gaelic football and hurling club for more than 50 years.

He raised thousands of pounds for charitable causes over the years and was part of the Oxford Irish Society, regularly playing cards and dancing in the Cowley Workers Social Club.

Close friend Henry Wymbs said he was 'extremely well known and liked' and will be sorely missed by the Irish community and the rest of the city.

The BBC radio presenter said his 'infectious smile and hearty laugh' were loved by many.

Billy Munnelly was born in Doohoma Head in County Mayo, Ireland, on December 27, 1946, to parents Ellen and John Munnelly, a farmer.

He grew up in Ireland with his three brothers and two sisters and went to school in County Mayo before the family moved to Marston in 1962.

On leaving secondary school in the village he went into the construction industry, working for Mahon and McPhillips road construction firm travelling all over the south for more than 25 years.

He married a local girl, Barbara, and they had two children, Michael and Paul, but later divorced.

As soon as he arrived in the city in the 1960s he immersed himself in Oxford's Irish life joining the Eire Og.

He remained involved with the club in some capacity until 2015 when he retired from the committee.

In more than three decades as a player he won several titles including the Junior Cup in 1972 and 1977 and the Senior Hertfordshire Championship in 1991.

He played his last game in 2000, at the age of 53, as a goalkeeper on a team that won the Senior B Cup.

The club paid tribute to the 'swashbuckling player' and described him as a great leader.

After moving to a different construction firm he was forced to retire when an accident on a building site left him with serious leg injuries.

Away from the Gaelic football pitch he was a fine Aunt Sally player for the Cowley Workers Social Club and in his later years with the Royal British Legion club in Marston.

He died in Oxford on July 13, aged 70, and is survived by his ex-wife Barbara, his sons Michael and Paul, his five siblings and a number of grandchildren.

A huge crowd gathered at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Headington last month for his burial mass and hundreds more attended his funeral in Mayo following his request to be repatriated.