McSorley, Brendan
April 28, 2005
The Late Brendan McSorley
Brendan McSorley's passing on the eve of St. Patricks Day was a terrible blow to his family and friends.
I was lucky enough to count myself amongst Brendan's friends, having first met the Eskra man in out school days at Omagh CBS and it was great to renew the friendship when Brendan opened his pharmacy shop in Aughnacloy in the early 1990s.
I recalled how happy Brendan was that opening day and how his clever business sense saw him build up a thriving concern. He was a dedicated pharmacist who would go out of his way to help people and to him it was much more than just a job.
He also had tremendous vision and was not afraid to branch into other areas of development but what always impressed me most was Brendan's true sense of community.
Brendan believed in supporting the communities he was brought up in and worked in, thus his backing for local groups and cross-community initiatives in Aughnacoly and his native Eskra. He also opened a pharmacy outlet in Emyvale and became popular in that part of the world too.
Over the years that followed, I dropped in regularly to the Aughnacloy shop and Brendan would often call me back behind the counter for a cup of coffee or tea and a chat.
The GAA was an important interest in his life, Brendan providing sound advice and guidelines to the Tyrone GAA camp on nutrition and related matters, his help very much appreciated by the county set-up and wider GAA fraternity as well.
Tyrone's All-Ireland victory of 2003 was to give Brendan so much joy because, quite apart from the professional help he gave, he was first and foremost a fan who followed the team up and down dale, through the good times and the bad.
At club level, Brendan was an ardent follower of Eskra Emmets and was trilled with their successes in recent seasons. He also sponsored Aghaloo O'Neills and his community work in Eskra alongside other dedicated people on the local Development Association will bear his hallmark for many years to come.
That was Brendan. He was always looking ahead and indeed he told me last year about plans to diversify into other areas of business. Such plans, though were tragically cut short.
Sadly, the next time we met, Brendan told me about being diagnosed with cancer. He had received the shattering news just a short time before but he was upfront and honest about what lay ahead of him.
I struggled to find any words of comfort but left him with the assurance that the Brendan McSorley I knew would fight hard and explore every avenue in the search for an extention to his life.
He did battle and with great spirit, undertaking what every treatment the could but he also accepted with dignity that our own mortality was a fact of life in itself and that faith in God was central to making sense of it all.
As Monsignor Gerard McSorley, Brendan's uncle, said during Requiem Mass at St Patrick's Church in Eskra, the entire family could ask questions about why he had been taken but that "God must have something beautiful in mind for Brendan to have called him to his eternal home at this time".
Monsignor Gerard also recalled the death of Brendan's father, Brian only last summer and Brendan's Uncle, Eugene McSorley, some months before that.
Brendan had thanked me personally for the tributes I penned to his Dad and Uncle in this paper. Little did I think that, just a matter of months later, I would be writing a tribute to Brendan's own life.
The scene at the graveside was extremely sad. A devoted family and community man taken before his time, laid to rest as his wife and young children looked on. That image said it all.
The journey home saw me reflect on what a weary puzzle life could be and I found myself praying to God that Brendan's family would gain inspiration and courage to face the future, as they try to pick up the pieces.
On a personal note, I will always treasure and carry with me the friendship I shared with Brendan. He had a great sense of humour and kept his feet on the ground no matter where his career took him.
Brendan did not stand on ceremony. If something felt right, he moved into action and got things done. We could all do with that approach in our lives, myself included.
Thanks Brendan for the friendship, the memories, the inspiration, the laughs and the chats. I know faith can be sorely tested at times like this but I still believe that we will meet again some day and set the world to rights once more.
Deepest sympathy is extended to Brendan's wife Marie-Therese, their children, all the family, relations and colleagues. May his soul rest in the peace of God.
By Damien Donnelly
Courtesy of the Tyrone Times
1st April 2005
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