Honest workman put Mass and prayers first IT was with shock and sadness that the people heard about the death of Mr Michael O'Sullivan of Chapel St. Tarbert, on Sunday morning, October 31. Michael died in the loving care of his family a Kerry General Hospital after a very short illness. He was in great health, and was only taken ill four days prior to his death. An esteemed member of the well known O'Sullivan family of Chapel St., he was the youngest of a family of 12 - three sons and nine daughters - of the late Gerald and Mary O'Sullivan. His sad passing at the age of 77 has taken from our midst a true gentleman, who will be sadly missed by his family and all who knew him. Michael was a very conscientious and honest workman, who gave dedicated service to his employers down the years. A carpenter by trade, he worked for many years with his late brother Paul, renovating and building houses throughout North Kerry and West Limerick. The two brothers were also well known and highly respected funeral undertakers in the area. In the 1960's, he spent a number of years in the USA and worked as a maintenance carpenter at the Kodak Film Company in Rochester, New York. Michael was a man who could turn his hand to any kind of work and he was an excellent painter and decorator. In the late 1970s, he took up employment as a painter until he retired in 1992, after 13 years of service. He was a staunch GAA man all his life. In 1948, he played at midfield on the Tarbert team that won the North Kerry senior FC for the first time. In this, the centenary year of the Tarbert GAA club, Michael hoisted the centenary flag at Shannon Park on New Years eve, to mark the start of the celebrations and during the visit of the Artane boys band on July 30, Michael was also part of the official opening ceremony. He was father of former Tarbert and Kerry U21 footballer Gerard O'Sullivan, while Michael's late father was one of the founder members of the Tarbert GAA Club 100 years ago. Michael was one of the last of the surviving members of the old regatta and carnival committee, that brought the first marquee for dancing to Tarbert back in the 1940s. A man of great faith, the mass and prayers were always Michael's priority. His favourite pastime was reading the daily and weekly newspapers. He enjoyed doing his daily chores in his home and paying regular visits to his sister Bernadette, at the Oaklands Nursing Home and having the company at his home of his family and grandchildren. Michael was predeceased by his life Margaret, who died seven years ago, and is survived by his son, Gerald, and five daughters, Mary, Breda, Elizabeth, Mairead and Bernadette, sisters Mrs Eileen O'Sullivan, Boston, and Miss Bernadette O'Sullivan. Tweet

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