Reilly, Joe
January 24, 2014Joe was born on the 31st of July 1935 to Luke & Teresa Reilly. He was the youngest of 11 children and was most recently predeceased by his brother Mark last February and his granddaughter Lucy in 2007. He attended Bruskey National School and in his youth played with the Wateraughey junior team along with the Loughduff Magpies in the mid '50s.
Joe was 78 years of age and lived all his life in Ballytrust. He was a hard working, progressive and very well respected member of the farming community and worked the land until his retirement in recent years. He particularly loved working on the bog and rearing the turf. Joe enjoyed social occasions and could always be tempted to sing a song or two. He read the newspaper everyday and always kept himself well versed in all that was going on at local and national level. He had a genuine interest in people and their family histories - he knew who everyone was and who they were related to. He was a great conversationalist and enjoyed debating issues with the best of them.
He was a man of deep religious faith with a particular devotion to the Devine Mercy who attended daily masses and the Holy Hour. In latter years he enjoyed travelling abroad, visiting family in England and the USA, regular pilgrimages to Lourdes and last year attending his grandnephew's wedding in Spain.
Central to all of this was his family and he took every effort to keep in touch with extended relations. He was a devoted father, grandfather, a confidant and a brilliant teacher who instilled strong values in his family.
Much loved by all his family, Joe is survived by his wife Nora, sister Peggy Hull (Oxford), children Luke, Breige, JJ, Mary, Majella, Thomas and grandnephew Michael. He is also sadly mourned by his 16 grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, relatives and friends.
-Longford Leader, 24th January 2014 Tweet
