n his Homily at the funeral Mass for the late Frank Carter in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception,Canon Tom Hever said the large congregation and the great number of people, who called to his home at Knappaghmore, Strandhill Road, were testimony to all of how much the man was thought of, how he had made a deep and lasting impression on so many and how he was respected and much loved.
A native of Shanraw, Keshcarrigan, County Leitrim, Mr Cater passed away peacefully at Sligo General Hospital on March 14th, aged 92.
He was predeceased by his wife, Kathleen and is survived by daughters, Margaret and Mary; sons, Joseph, Francis, Patrick and Noel; sons-in-law, daughters-in-law; grandchildren; great grandchildren, sisters, Sr Darerca, Patricia, Christina and Angela, nephews, nieces, relatives and many, many friends.
His sister Margaret (Slattery) sadly passed away on March 25th, aged 95.
An All-Ireland junior medal winner with Leitrim in 1938, Frank Cater was regarded as one of the Kilturbrid club's greatest ever footballers and one of the best defenders in Connacht during what was a relatively short playing career.
After his national school education he attended St. Mel's College, Longford, where he and many others benefited greatly from the coaching of Fr. Sean Manning.
In what was a golden era for the college, Frank was a member of both the senior and junior teams which won the Leinster Colleges Championship in the three years from 1934 to 1936, remarkably taking six championships in those three years, normally playing at full back.
He was at full back on the Leinster Colleges team which defeated Ulster in the inter-provincial final replay in 1934, and was just nineteen years old when he features at centre-half back on the Leitrim team which won the All-Ireland (Home) Final in '38.
Changing his allegiance to Sligo, Frank won a County Sligo senior football championship medal with Croabh Rua in 1941. Playing for Sligo, he represented the county on Connaght Railway Cup teams, again playing at full back.
He first came to Sligo to work for New Ireland Assurance, before opening his own timber business and sawmill near the Market Yard.
He later moved to Lynn's Place beside Hanley's Yard, before entering the building trade and becoming Site Manager for Crampton's and John Paul, where he was involved in projects such as the former Snia plant, the Regional Technical College, and the Asahi plant in Kilalla.
Frank subsequently moved into law, working as a legal secretary with the Howley-Carter firm in Wine Street, dealing with Probate and other matters with typical enthusiasm and professionalism.
He retired from Howley-Carter at the age of 82, to concentrate on gardening and the out-doors.
Speaking the day before St. Patrick's Day, Conan Hever said Frank Carter loved being Irish and celebrated his Irishness not just on St. Patrick's Day, but on every day of his life.
He treasured being born an Irish man and never saw a need to travel abroad, except once when he recently went over to England for his sister's birthday.
"He never forgot his roots in Leitrim and how his early days in that county shaped and made him into the good man he was, but he did come to love and appreciate his adopted county of Sligo, for it was here he met his beloved late wife Kathleen, and settled to rear is family as a good husband and devoted father," Cannon Hever went on.
He said Frank Carter loved the land and got such joy from sowing and planting and later enjoyed the results of those efforts at the kitchen table with his family. He loved farming and animals, having a particular fondness for horses.
"For him a break on a holiday was not to travel to Kerry or Wexford, or even the South of France, but to go across to Coney Island where he would be with cattle and horses." Canon Hever added.
He recalled that for years after the motor car arrived on the scene, Frank Carter still preferred to travel in and out the Strandhill Road by pony and trap.
"He loved the countryside and the beauty of nature to be found there, but he also felt that the countryside should be able to sustain a man and his family and for that reason he enjoyed shooting and fishing and again bringing to table for his own nourishment and that of his family what be may have caught or shot," Canon Hever went on.
He spoke of Frank's Junior All-Ireland medal win with Leitrim and how later in life he enjoyed nothing more than attending a game and watching good competitive match.
Like so many Irishmen of his generation Frank was a hard worker, a good grafter, a loving father, caring husband, a great provider and was always a concerned neighbour and friend.
Canon Hever said Frank Carter treasured the faith which came to this country through the faith courage and determination of St. Patrick.
His whole day was punctuated with times of prayer, especially in the evening when he finished his day with the rosary.
He never grew tired or lazy in his faith, but remained ever full of fervour, and if anything as he grew older his faith grew ever stronger, Canon Hever concluded.
Frank Carter was laid to rest in St. Patrick' Cemetery, Scarden.

Courtesy of the Sligo Champion
April 6th 2011 Tweet

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