Jordan, Paddy
January 27, 2014
On a January morning, God called home a much loved Castlebar resident with a Breaffy heart. Paddy Jordan had lived a happy, quiet, love-laden, funfilled life. He had helped build the highways and byways of Mayo as a driver with the County Council and also served the community in the first service; he had lived with the love of his life Bride (nee Graven) and their children Michael, Padraic, Yvonne, Michelle, Caroline and Marianne in their happy home in Springfield, Castlebar.
Throughout his life Paddy was many things: a proud Breaffy man, talented footballer, hard worker, reliable and conscientious employee, loyal friend, loving husband, caring and devoted father and grandfather and a friendly, kind and helpful neighbour. He was a humble man: unassuming, honest and fair.
He was a man who enjoyed the simple things in life like being at home with his family, taking a drive to wonder at the beauty of Mayo - a place he would never ask to leave - watching football, doing crosswords or enjoying a chat over a few mediums with friends in his local, Paddy Moran's.
There is little doubt that Paddy Jordan's heart was blue and white. He may have lived a great part of his life in the heart of Castlebar, but he never was anything other than a Breffy man, through and through.
He grew up on the family farm in Drimdough, Breaffy with his parents, grandmother Jane (nee Kilgallon), seven brothers and four sisters. He was schooled in Breaffy until the age of fourteen and was a proud member of the first Breaffy football team and his family cemented a special place in the history of the club of the wolf.
Paddy and his siblings were a family who thrived in the sporting arena and had a great love of community. They were gifted athletes, with members of the family lining out at gaelic, soccer, boxing, cycling and camogie in a golden era for sport in West-Mayo.
The family consisted of parents Mike and Mary Ann and children Paddy, Bridie, Josephine, Johnny, Mickey, Christy, Vincent, Kevin, Brendan, Gabriel, Geraldine and Rosaleen.
There were Jordans on the Breaffy football team from its inception in 1953 until the late'70s. After that, Kevin's sons Barry and Colm, carried on the tradition from the late '90s to the present day. Before he played for the Blue and White, Paddy lined out with Belcarra, but once Breaffy breathed life, he played for the team on and off until the early 1960s. Paddy's work with the County Council meant that he was often away during the week, but he returned home at weekends to play for the club. He also lined out for West Mayo and was a very skilled goalie.
The brothers played and trained at every available opportunity and football was their passion and their chief interest. Only two of the siblings didn't play; Brendan and Gabriel. Brendan passed away in 2011 and Gabriel currently resides in Southampton.
There was no official pitch in Breaffy until 1960, but the team got the use of land from Eamon McGreal and from the Brownes of Breaffy. The family remembers fondly the annual Breaffy Sports Day, which drew spectators and participants from near and far.
Johnny was the second of the family to play for the club and lined out with the Blue and White from 1954 to 1956. He emigrated to England in 1956, but four years later, while home on holiday, he drove a packed car up to Fermanagh to play in a 7-a-side tournament, which the team won. It was a common belief that if Johnny had stayed in Ireland, he'd have worn the Green and Red on many occasions.
Mickey was the third Jordan to line out with the club, but like Johnny, his career was cut short due to emigration. Mickey played from 1956 to 1958, but left for England in May of that year. Both Johnny and Mickey settled in Southampton and had long careers with Trant. Mickey and his wife Elizabeth retired home to Mayo and currently live in Balla.
Vincent operated at left-corner-forward and played with Breaffy from 1959 for about 14 years. He also played for Mayo and remembers being beaten by Galway in the 1966 Connacht final by a single point. In the same game Mick Ruane scored a punched goal, but the referee didn't see it and Mayo were condemned to defeat while Galway went on to win the All-Ireland - one their three-in-a-row.
Vincent played as a minor with Castlebar Mitchels and with Pearses in the Town League. In 1966 he was on the 'Abbeyside' team that won the county senior league. That team was made up of players from Breaffy, Ballintubber and Balla.
He wasn't just a good Gaelic player. He played soccer as a minor with Castlebar Celtic and played indoor soccer during the early 1960s. He was an accomplished boxer and won a Connacht title with Castlebar BC. He was also a keen cyclist and won a county title on the two wheels.
Kevin was a right-half-back and started playing for Breaffy in 1962. His was the longest of the family associated with the club and played for very nearly 20 years. Like Vincent, Kevin wore the Green and Red and first lined out for his county in 1968 and fondly remembers the thrill of playing against Kerry in Croke Park in the All-Ireland semi-final the following season alongside 'Four Goals' McGee, Ray Prendergast, Joe Langan and John Morley. The classy defender fondly recalls winning the county title with Breaffy in 1966 and the West Mayo title in 1970.
Christy played for Breaffy at club level. Like Paddy, he was a great goalie but didn't always relish the responsibility of that position! He enjoyed the 7-a-side tournaments that became popular in the 1960s. He played for two seasons with Mayo juniors and helped them to Connacht titles in 1966 and 1967. In 1967, during a challenge game against Kildare in Newbridge, Christy, Kevin and Vincent played together for the Mayo senior team. I'm sure there haven't been many occasions when three siblings lined out at senior level for the Green and Red.
It wasn't only the boys who excelled in sports in the Jordan household. Both Geraldine and Rosaleen were keen athletes and played camogie for the club and Mayo. At one point in their Mayo career, they played alongside Ann Bourke, Kevin's future wife and Katie Graven of Achill, Paddy's sister-in-law.
Paddy Jordan lived a quiet and happy life in the midst of an amazing family and a thriving community. He left behind him a myriad of memories, a cargo of smiles and a place in local history that will forever echo to the tale of a proud son of Breaffy and Mayo.
Western People, 27th January 2014
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