Obituaries 15th november 2014
Jack Fitzsimons, Kells
A man who made a difference to the lives of so many, to the lives of his family and extended family, and to the lives of the most vulnerable at local and national level, was remembered at his funeral Mass in St Colmcille’s Church, Kells, on Thursday last.
Former urban and county councillor, and senator, Jack Fitzsimons, of Kenlis Lodge, passed away peacefully on Tuesday of last week, aged 84. While in declining health for some time, he died at Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, after a short illness.
Not only was he a campaigning politician, but also a designer, author, painter, poet, and photographer. As an architect, his ‘Bungalow Bliss’ went to 12 printings, and was used as a bible for many Irish people building homes for decades from the 1970s.
Fr Liam Malone, CC, Kells, celebrating the funeral Mass, said that Jack Fitzsimons was enjoying peace at last, after a live well lived and well served. He was assisted by Fr Willie Fitzsimons, a school friend of the deceased.
Jack Fitzsimons was a native of Kilbeg, where he was born in April 1930, one of a family of six of John and Annie Fitzsimons of Gravelstown. Four of the family, three sons and a daughter, survived to adulthood.
In 1968, he married Anne Grace, having earlier opened a business, Kells Art Studios. His first edition of ‘Bungalow Bliss’ featured 20 house designs; the 12th printing of it in 2000 featured 260 designs, along with planning advice and information on rules and regulations. Deceased was a Fellow of the Faculty of Architects and Surveyors; a Fellow of the Construction Surveyors Institute; a Fellow of the Faculty of Building; a Fellow of the Irish Architects Association; and a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Designers.
He published many other books, including the 286 page ‘The Parish of Kilbeg’ in 1974; ‘Democracy Be Damned’ in 1989; ‘Thatched Houses in Co Meath’ in 1990; ‘Bungalow Bashing’ (1990); ‘Coursing Ban Be Damned’ (1994). Other works were ‘Peeping through the Reeds’, ‘Call me a Dreamer’, and ‘By the Banks of the Borora’, in which he moved into fiction, and ‘The Plains of Royal Meath’, looking at the county’s townlands and placenames, in 1979. He edited a quarterly publication, ‘The Meath Monitor’.
He was working on three more books before he died - a short history of the development of Bungalow Bliss and its social context; reflections on religion; and a work of fiction.
Appointed a peace commissioner by the Minister for Justice in 1974, his first foray into politics came in 1979, when he was selected by Fianna Fail to run in the local elections of that year, when Patrick McKenna retired. Elected to Kells Urban Council, he was re-elected in 1985, becoming chairman of the UDC after that year’s election. Nominated by the Irish Architects Society to run for the industrial and commercial panel in the Seanad Elections in 1981, he won a seat there in 1983, one of three from the Meath-Westmeath constituency elected to Seanad Eireann in that year, with Donie Cassidy of Castlepollard, and Michael Lynch of Oldcastle. He was a member of the senate until 1989.
During these years, he was a member of the Meath Co Library Committee; chairman of the urban council’s ancient monuments advisory committee; committee member for the establishment of a Meath county museum; chairman of Kilbeg Cemetery Committee; member of Kells UDC land committee; and chairman of Kells Swimming Pool fundraising committee.
Jack Fitzsimons resigned from Fianna Fail following his defeat in the 1989 Senate Elections, saying he was only supported by half of the Fianna Fail councillors in Meath. He received only 34 first preference votes and believed half of these came from independents. He believed that his stance on enclosed hare coursing, housing, Travellers’ and women’s rights, employment and the development of a pluralist society lost him the support of councillors, particularly Fianna Fail members.
He left the party, saying he had no interest in being nominated to the Seanad by the Taoiseach (Charles Haughey), as he was not interested in getting a seat in that way. He also resigned his UDC and VEC seats, as he had been elected to them as a member of Fianna Fail.
Deceased was elected to Meath County Council as an independent candidate, and was a member of a very controversial council until 1999, where he was outspoken on issues such as county development plans and Travellers’ issues, offering at one stage to give up his seat to a Traveller representative over the Navan Halt site issue.
A project very close to him was the restoration of the Pauper’s Graveyard at the Tower of Lloyd, and the annual ceremony there at Christmas to remember the dead.
As a communion reflection at his funeral, his daughter Cora, read ‘The Paupers Cemetery’, a poem written by Louis Collins in 1983, to commemorate the dead there.
A frequent correspondent with the Meath Chronicle, he wrote his final letter to Market Square just two weeks before his passing.
Fr Malone recalled the colourful character with his own unique style of dressing, who often has a placard in his hands, 'at one time walking the 40 miles to Dublin in a march organised by him against hare coursing. In 1994, he ran for the European Parliament elections on an anti-bloodsport ticket.
'His personal interest in local affairs in county affairs and in national affairs, his passion for the rights of others, led him to become a public representative as a town councillor, as a county councillor and as a member of Seanad Eireann,' Fr Malone said. 'He was fearless in all of the chambers and always followed his beliefs and passions.'
Even in his final days in hospital, he had a file of a manuscript he was working on brought to him, working closely with his son, Lloyd, assisting and guiding him.
He is survived by his wife, Anne; family, Cora, Lana, Lloyd, Emla and Ken; grandchildren, Lorcan, Eabha, Ruby, Corinne, Louis and Conor; sons-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
The funeral took place from St Colmcille’s Church to St Colmcille’s Cemetery. The attendance included the leas-cathaoirleach of Meath Co Council, Cllr Trevor Golden, and the former county manager, Frank O’Brien, as well as past and present councillors. In the offertory procession, former councillor Oliver Sweeney brought up the Kells Town Council chain of office as a symbol of Jack Fitzsimons’ public service, while books and family photographs were also part of the ceremony. He was remembered as a loving husband, adored grandfather, much loved uncle and relative and true friend. Tributes were paid to the deceased by the leader of Fianna Fail, Michael Martin, and Senator Thomas Byrne.
Seamus Heery, Collon
The great GAA broadcaster, Micheal O'Hehir, describing Seamus Heery on the pitch, would say: 'Here he comes, here he is, and Heery is is name....'
Seamus Heery, Starinagh, Collon, who died last week, was a member of Meath’s All Ireland winning senior football team of 1949. Aged 89, he passed away peacefully at his home after a short illness.
Deceased was born in Rathbran, Lobinstown, one of a family of 16, on 14th September 1925, and spent his early years at Ardsallagh, Navan.
He then lived at Clogher, Rathkenny, where he played his football with the local junior club, and came to the attention of the Meath selectors.
Seamus, known as Seamie, made his senior championship debut for Meath in the second round game against Wexford in 1949 and participated in all three of the famous games against Louth. He was at right full back in those games and for the Leinster Final win over Westmeath. He was switched to right-half-back for the All-Ireland semi-final win over Mayo and starred in that position in the historic All-Ireland final win over Cavan, where the scoreline of 1-10 to 1-06 saw Meath win the title for the first time. Opposed by JJ Cassidy and later in the game, Victor Sherlock, he had an outstanding match, contributing much to the victory.
Seamie led the divisional team, North Meath, to senior championship success over Skryne in 1950 and, as a result, was captain of the Meath team for the 1951 championship.
The Leinster title was regained but Seamie’s dreams of lifting the Sam Maguire Cup were dashed by Mayo in the All-Ireland final. However, he was compensated with an Irish Independent Sports Star of the Week award. It was Mayo’s last time to win an All Ireland, when they were captained by Sean Flanagan.
In 1951, he played in defence in the home league final against Mayo, which Meath won early in the year, but injury ruled him out of the away game against New York, and was to curtail the rest of his county career. Deceased also played for a while with Navan O’Mahonys.
He was married to the former Margaret Corrigan from Kildalkey for 52 years.
Speaking at his funeral Mass last week, his son, David, recalled a ‘legend’ who cherished his family and who had a great sense of humour, with a quick wit and always telling stories.
He had a great love of animals, farming and gardening, and loved a flutter on the horses. He travelled across the country to race meetings, and at the annual trip to Cheltenham made many friends.
The funeral Mass in the Church at Mary Immaculate, Collon was celebrated by Fr Michael Sheerin, PP, Lobinstown, assisted by Fr Michael Meade, PP, Summerhill, Fr Aidan Murphy, PP, Termonfeckin, and Fr Anselm Emechebe, Ardee and Collon, where the offertory gifts included the ball from the 1949 All-Ireland, carried by friend, Jim Curtis, as well as a Rathkenny jersey carried by grandson, Jack Thompson. The hearse was horse-drawn to the New Cemetery, Collon, as a nod to Seamus Heery’s love of horses, and at the graveside, Martin Donohoe sang ‘O Beautiful Meath’, while GAA broadcaster Brendan Cummins delivered a talk on the former player’s life and career.
Deceased is survived by his wife, Margaret; sons, David, Barry, Neville and Ronan; daughters; Orla and Susan; 15 grandchildren, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law; brother Joe; sisters, Rita, Babs, Bernadette and Monica, relatives, including nephew, current Meath senior football team manager, Mick O’Dowd of Skryne; and large circle of friends.
Margaret Conway, Navan
The regretted death occurred on 4th October last of Margaret (Mag) Conway, formerly of Parnell Park, Navan, at Millbury Nursing Home, Navan, which became her home for the past four and a half years.
Margaret (née Reilly) was born in Tatestown, Navan in May 1912, one of eight sisters and two brothers. When younger, she worked in Walsh’s furniture factory, located where the Rivermill Apartments now stand, and trained there as a French polisher. It was while working there that she met her future husband, Kilkenny man Thomas Conway. They married in 1937 and had three sons, Kieran, Thomas and Eric. Margaret and Thomas were amongst the first tenants to move into Parnell Park, and made many life-long friendships among their neighbours there. To make ends meet, Margaret took in lodgers, mainly from the County Council offices in Navan. Many of these became close friends. The weekly sewing classes also became a means of socialising and meeting friends.
During her long life of 102 years, Margaret witnessed many changes, living through two world wars, and many other events. The one constant in her life remained her devotion to her faith. She had especially fond memories of visits to Lourdes and San Giovanni. Deceased loved organising summer holidays, initially to her husband’s native Kilkenny city, and in later years to Salthill in Galway.
In the 1980s, she made numerous visits to her sister’s home in the US. She also enjoyed her weekly visits to Dalgan Park, Navan, completing the entire river walk well into her nineties.
Margaret was predeceased by her husband, Thomas, in 1983, and is survived by her sister, Tess, Navan; sons, Kieran, Thomas and Eric; daughter-in-law, Geraldine; sister-in-law; nieces; nephews; relatives and friends.
The funeral Mass in St Mary’s Church, Navan, was celebrated by Father Stephen Kelly, CC, assisted by Fr Martin Halpin, PP, Ballinabrackey, followed by burial in St Mary’s Cemetery.
Mona Macken, Stamullen
The regretted death occurred on 29th September last of Mona Macken, Preston Hill, Stamullen, suddenly at the age of 82.
Deceased was very active with the East Meath Active Retirement Association, and was a member of the ICA. She loved reading, theatre, and music, and enjoyed holidays.
She is survived by her daughter, Mary Lenehan; son, John G Macken; son-in-law, John Lenehan; daughter-in-law, Jackie Macken; grandchildren, Robert, Jack, Eddie and Caroline Macken; brother, Fr Frank McDonagh; sisters, Sr Myra McDonagh, Sr Kathleen McDonagh and Sr Peggy McDonagh.
The funeral took place from St Patrick’s Church, Stamullen, to Moorechurch Cemetery, Julianstown.
Martin John Daly, Trim
There was great sadness following the death of Martin John Daly, Tower View, Trim, on 12th October last, aged 23.
He was a talented cross country runner, a brilliant hurler, and will be remembered as a great cook.
A native of Trim, he is survived by his mother, Marie, brothers, Daniel and Gary; girlfriend, Jenna, and son, Layton.
The funeral took place from St Patrick’s Church, Trim, to St Loman’s Cemetery.