Lord Killanin

Born Michael Morris (one of the fourteen families making up the Tribes of Galway) in 1914, he became sixth president of the International Olympic Committee IOC in 1972, shortly after the massacre at the Munich Olympics. He guided the Olympic movement through the turbulent tragedies of the 1970s. His Olympic career began in 1952 as Ireland's representative on the IOC, becoming senior vice-president in 1968. He was also a director of many companies and dabbled in the film industry - collaborating with his lifelong friend, John Ford, on "The Quiet Man". He died at his home in Dublin on April 25, 1999 and, following a funeral service in An Spidéal (Spiddal), Co. Galway, he was buried in the family vault in the New Cemetery, Galway City.