The late Pat Kenny A man of quiet disposition who, while living an exemplary life, used his talents wisely in rearing a model family in bringing his practice of farming to a fine art. Through his great love and respect for his wife"Mary" and family, he added to our stock of humanity. We thus felt a great sense of loss on hearing of Pat's premature death, after a short illness, in the early hours of the New Year 2007. Born the youngest child of John and Josephine Kenny (Nee Quinlan) on St Swithan's Day 1935. He was baptised Dunkerrin Church by Fr Alfred Moloney. Along with his three sisters, Mary Larkin, Babe Tuohy and Joan Kennedy and his only brother, he attended the new school in Dunkerrin. Here he received his early education under the food tutelage of Mrs Duggan and Seamus O'Rian. Pat grew up in the rural ambience of their picturesque thatched family home at the four roads of Laughbawn, between Moneygall and Dunkerrin. Perhaps his real education was gained within the local dynamics of this open house where a far less formal, though nonetheless important curriculum prevailed! Here he would have absorbed the many skills that equipped him for the rest of his life; including among others evaluating weather conditions; judging livestock and assessing their values; analysing the economics and methods of farming; learning the art of hurling and all the social nuances of a rural neighbourhood. Although farming had emerged from the era of subsidence at the beginning of Pat's life, it was still a very labour intensive regime with little or no mechanisation. Recovery from the effects of both the Economic War and the Second World War was slow for agriculture produce and prices remained depressed. Water was still drawn by hand and rural electrification had not yet reached all parts of the parish. Few families enjoyed the luxury of a motorcar and fewer still could afford a tractor. Cattle were walked to the fairs; people brought their own milk to the creamery and intensive farming practices were still a long way off. Yet it was in this rural environment of "Laughbawn" that homes his art of making a living from the land.We will always remember with admiration and appreciation his openness to adopting to new methods of farm production today we can enjoy and measure the fruits of his endeavours through the quality and quantity of the food that arrives on our tables! His strong intellect helped him in no small way to take full advantage of EEC membership and to enjoy the many benefits arising from the Common Agricultural Policy. Along with many others, he was able to raise his family's standard of living and generate the resources to develop and expand his enterprises for now and into the future. He was a true patriot in the sense that he did grow two or maybe more blades of grass where one grew before! His contribution to agriculture should not be under estimated. Like many of his contemporise , all he may have ever done in life was both work and play and sometimes pray. In the end he was able to to produce the goods, especially in the progressive way. He was able to extend his green empire into Barna through his purchase of the Madden holding, and where he had resided for the last twenty five years. He was both a keen observer of rural life and he was sensitive to the needs of farmers. He certainly rejoiced in using his experience to preserve the local landscape for us and for posterity to enjoy. Being a meticulous ploughman, it could be said that he was in love with soil and it's unique ability to sustain all living things. In summing up these achievements, an old Chinese proverb says it all; "let those who drink the water remember with gratitude he who dug the well". He never wavered from his role of being a loving husband; a dedicated father and a friendly neighbour who was always cheerful and welcoming. He often related how his mother would round them all up to say the rosary. Religion did have a strong influence during his formative years -"we had a sacred heart lamp in our kitchen and we changed the flowers regularly. I am not sure what it instilled in us, but it was part of our background"; although he was doubtful of the piety of these exercises. Yet he was a member of the Dunkerrin Legion of Mary Presidium for fifty-eight years. In keeping his faith alive, he would express his great optimism in human nature by saying "there is no such thing as a bad person, only a good person is better. Dr Rodgers confirmed him at a time when it was seldom that the Bishop of Killaloe made it to a parish function. He played for the Loughbawn Hurling club which had emerged like a Prague Spring during divisions over the newly introduced parish rules of the GAA. His mother was appaled when he would not invite his Cloneganna cousins, the O'Carroll's home for tea after a robust match between them. He was married to Mary Darcy for three years before they bought their first car. Another great love of his life was his sheep dog Lassie. Her canine intuition and his instinctive kindness for animals bordered on the realms of some higher intelligence. He loved Irish music and was an accomplished dancer. He sometimes regretted not having had the opportunity to learn the trade of carpentry at Roscrea Technical School. Visiting the sick was another sign of this man's great humanity. Throughout his life, Pat has worked in unison with his brother Sean and never exchanged unkind words in all the times and chores they shared. He knew he had achieved important things and had balance in his life. He was at peace with himself and others. He felt fulfiled and he was calm. He supported us when the reverse should have been the case. We came to realise how privileged we were to have known and worked with him. Many of his colleagues showed him that they valued these privileges. We will always remember him. It is only now in his absence that we realise how much we loved him. Let us now learn ways of expressing that love to others. He enriched our lives and we thank god for that. Having been predeceased by his sister Mary, he is survived by his wife Mary, brother Sean, sons John, Seamus, Padraig, Geroid and daughter Elizabeth (Hogan). And grandchildren. His sisters; Babe Tuohy and Joan Kennedy. The removal and burial, Dunkerrin was a sombre parish, which turned out to a man and woman, to say a last farewell to Pat. His passing was sudden, but its impact will linger. A gentle rain fell as fellow legion member Seamus Doherty delivered a graveside oration. Four lines from "Grey's Elegy" described a element of his life. Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke; How jocund did they drive their team afield! How bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke! Go neine Dia trocaire ar a anam dilis. Courtesy of the Tipperary Star 10 February 2007 Tweet

Most Read Stories