Plunkett, Jack
June 11, 2010
Remembering the late Jack Plunkett
Longford man Jack Plunkett passed away suddenly on the 8th of may 2010 in Madrid. Jack, or Sean as he was sometimes known locally, would have been well known to older generations around Longford and had one of the most remarkable lives any Longford person was likely to have lived.
One of ten children, Jack was a son of john and Kathleen Plunkett formerly of Silchester on the Battery road in Longford town. He was educated in St Michael's Boys school and later went to St. Mel's College, Completing his education there in 1941.
Upon leaving school he joined the Irish army and trained to be an officer in the Curragh with his brother Joe( a former judge who passed away a few years ago). He was posted among other places to Valentia Island. When his mother passed away in 1943 he was transferred to Longford's Connolly Barracks on Compassionate grounds to help look after his younger siblings. His father John, a veterinary surgeon, had previously passed away in 1935.
Jack was an accomplished Gaelic footballer and he won a Leinster Colleges with St.Mel's in 1941. He first appeared in Longford colours on a county minor team in 1940. When he returned to Longford in 1943 he returned to county colours and appeared on Longford senior teams all the way up to 1947 where he played full forward in a National league semi-final defeat to Derry. He played his club football with Longford Wanderers with whom he won county senior championship honours in 1944 and again in 1947. When not playing the game he turned his hand to refereeing and was known not to be one to shy away from difficult decisions.
After leaving the army he trained for six months in Manchester as an aeroplane radio engineering officer. He got a job in Argentina with FAMA (the national airline now known as Aerolineas Argentinas). Unfortunately not long after he arrived roughly in 1950, the Peron's took control of the country and directed that all officers in Argentine airlines were to be Argentine citizens. With no money to head back to Ireland and little or no Spanish, Jack took a job on a farm in the province in Buenos Aires until he learnt enough Spanish to be able to fend for himself back in the Argentine capital.
He met his future wife, Adeline Hyland, an Argentinean of Irish decent, early after his arrival in Argentina and they got married in Dublin in May 1954. They were married in Dublin in May 1954. They were married by his uncle Joe Plaunkett, a parish priest in Ballinalee at that time. Jack and Adeline had six children, Corinne, Sandra, Lorraine, Sean, Trevor and Harold. Jack sent his sons back to Ireland to Gormanstown College in Co.Meath for their secondary school education.
Jack joined Bank of America (now Lloyds Banks) in Buenos Aires in 1952 and was posted first to Asuncion, Paraguay and then to Rio Gallegos, Argentina at the most southern point on the South American continent where his three daughters were born. Then onward to Cordoba, in the middle of Argentina, where Sean was born and then to Lima, Peru where the two youngest were born.
After Jack and family headed to Seville, Spain (7 years), back to Buenos Aires (6 years) and to become the country manager for Nicaragua for 3 years (including the 1977 to 1979 civil war) and finally to his last posting as country manager for Nicaragua for 3 years (including the 1977 to 1979 civil war) and finally to his last posting as country manager of Guatemala for his last 4 years with Lloyds bank.
After that he retired back to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
His bank career in South and Central America was never dull but some events really stand out. During his time in Nicaragua the country was gripped by civil war. Jack and family lived under' Martial Law '- this meant they were not permitted to be on the streets after sunset, anyone seen on the streets after dark could be shot at by the army as they would assume they were terrorists. Life was grim in war torn city of Managua and few form of entertainment available due to electricity cuts, restricted television choice and effects of a devastating earthquake in 1972. In order to avoid the boredom Jack and Adeline went to huge lengths to fit in regular rounds of golf.
Their round of golf was not without its risks. On the way to the golf cub they would stop the car at the crossroads and listen for gunshots and battle noise to determine what route was the safest to the club on a particular day,.
Courtesy of the Longford Leader
June 11th, 2010
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