Clifford, Michael
February 22, 2011When Shakespeare wrote of all the world being a stage and each man in his lifetime playing many parts he might well have being talking about Michael Clifford of Baile na Muintera, Dunmore East in the Barony of Gaultier who passed away on Tuesday January 11th last in Waterford Regional Hospital in his 73rd year having succumbed at last to illness which he bore with great patience and battled against with a courage and determination that was so typical of the man.
Mick, or Cliff or plain Clifford, as he was known to the many friends and acquaintances he touches base with on his lively journey through life, was a proud Kerry man, born into the world of Castle Cove, near Derrynane in South Kerry to a family steeped in the Gaelic tradition and brought up in that tradition as a fluent Irish speaker, a lover of all things Irish and being from Kerry, Gaelic Football in particular. He was one of a family of five girls, including his twin sister, Kathleen, and three boys, he being the youngest.
From there Mick set out on his journey through life that took him to St. Kierans College Kilkenny where he learned his hurling, and on to London where he became something of a legend in GAA circles throughout the sixties before finding his way back to Waterford in 1968.
Mick was a man who, in his time, lived life to the full. His primary education was in the local national school and after one year spent in the football nursery of St. Brendans, Killarney Mick's family decided to broaden his horizons by sending him as a boarder to the hurling bastion of St. Kierans College, Kilkenny.
Whether this course of action was taken in the interests of Kerry football or rather a subversive plot to undermine the future of Kilkenny hurling is not clear but the young Clifford embraced the stick game with great enthusiasm despite having the distinction of being the only player in the college to have split himself open with his hurley.
Having completed his secondary education in 1956 Mick stayed on in the seminary at St. Kierans for almost two years before it became clear that the priestly calling was not for him. After twelve months working in the new Lieberr factory in Killarney Mick joined the great diaspora and found himself in London in 1960. He spent the next eight years working there and in that period he immersed himself in the Irish community through the GAA and other cultural activities and took a great interest in looking out for the welfare of young Irish immigrants arriving in the capital of Britain.
He became a well known figure in GAA circles, not only as a player and referee but as an official with an in depth knowledge of the GAA rule book that some who knew him might say was to his advantage when it came to circumventing those rules whenever the need arose. He was involved in the founding of the An Riocht Club in London for those with strong Kerry connections and his proudest moment came when he led his side to the London Intermediate County Hurling Championship in 1968, at a time when the GAA was very strong there.
It was in 1968 that Michael Francis Clifford left London to return to his native land but it was not to Kerry that he went. The fates decreed that he should find his way to Waterford where his brother in law, Michael Walsh, had set up a brand of his carpet business in Georges Street and Mick would be the manager of same. He took up 'digs' in Kilmacow in the premises of "Totty' Barry, where there was a Kerry connection and proceeded to establish his presence in his new business and social environment while playing hurling with Kilmacow.
Mick became involved in what was a busy community of Kerry ex pats in Waterford through the Kerrymans Association and was involved in organising events such as the local Rose of Tralee functions and fundraising activities.
It was as one such 'Rose of Tralee' function that Mick was introduced to a young dental nurse, Noirin Ní Criostoir, a native Irish speaker from a similar cultural background in An Rinn from which introduction began a courtship that was to result in marriage in August 1971 after which Mick and Noirin settled down in Viewmount to raise their family, daughters Siobhain and Una and son Eoin.
On arrival in Waterford Mick saw a opening for a Gaelic Football club based in Kerrymans Association to cater for players in Waterford who had hitherto been making the long trek home to play the game over weekends. With fellow Kerrymen such as Sylvie O'Dwyer and 'Kerry' Keane as well as others he set up An Riocht (The Kingdom) Gaelic Football club as he had done in London.
The building trade was taking off in Waterford at the time with McInerneys going strong and the building of the Ardree Hotel bringing people back from England to take up employment with the result that players from counties other than Kerry found their way into An Riocht. The club competed strongly for about four years with Mick at the helm and that always meant exciting times on the field and off it and never a dull moment socially. Sean King's Bar in Lombard Street was where all the big decisions were made. As times changed difficulties arose in fielding teams with players moving away and transferring to other counties and Mick's novel way of overcoming such difficulties led to the decision to wind up the club.
Mick himself, and most of the available players, joined Mount Sion and led to the club competing strongly at senior level in football for a few years. Mick got heavily involved with the underage activities in the club and led a very good group of footballers to County U-16 and Divisional Minor titles over a few seasons.
Like many other things in Mick's career his fundraising discos at the club became the stuff of legend and to this day are remembered by many a young couple of that time. His concern and generosity when it came to looking after the young players in his charge was greatly appreciated by parents and players at the time and thirty five years on many turned out for his funeral in Carbally.
As in London, Mick served the GAA in Waterford as a player, mentor and referee.
He took great pride in the achievements of the Kerry teams under Mick O'Dwyer in the seventies and early eighties and at a time when Waterford teams did not feature greatly on the national stage our trips to Dublin for All-Ireland semi finals and finals were, to say the least 'memorable' in so many ways and, with Mick, always exciting.
With Mick Clifford there were no half measures in life. His enthusiasm and passion for whatever he involved himself in was at all times infectious and he was never one to sit back and wait for others to take the lead.
Mick's greatest disappointment was the failure of his beloved Kerry to achieve their fifth successive All-Ireland victory against Offaly in 1982 and on the drive home from Dublin that day hardly a word was spoken. Though Kerry did come back to win the next three All- Irelands it was in those years that Mick's life underwent a seismic change.
The family were now settled in the Barony of Gaultier since 1978 and Mick had left the carpet business for other business ventures, without success. A life spent in the fast lane was now taking its toll, health wise and business wise, and the reality finally hit home that he had what was commonly described as 'a drink problem'. Mick Clifford was an alcoholic and also suffered from full blown diabetes and being a man who had always tackled problems head on he took the same course in this case.
In 1986 he took the decision, in consultation with a good friend involved in such cases, to go into the rehab programme at Aiseiri and emerged determined to turn his life around with alcohol no loner playing a part in his life. A Snowcream milk round became available and Mick took it on. Having canvassed every residence between Viewmount and Dunmore East he built up a huge clientele and proceeded to provide a top class service putting in very long hours and building a great rapport with the people of the area over the next 14 years. In that period Mick devoted his life totally to his growing family and lent his expertise to the local Gaultier Gaelic Football club while also immersing himself in the local parish and community. He made himself available at all times as a counsellor through AA to help people who had encountered the problems relating to alcohol addiction that he had so courageously overcome.
Mick retired in 1999 having established a strong business base but an idyllic retirement was never going to be his. His diabetes was always difficult to control and now he had the added problem of a failing liver. His life expectancy was considerably reduced ad it was diagnosed that only a liver transplant could arrest a rapid decline. I remember seeing his frail frame in St. Vincents Hospital as he awaited his operation and recall doubting his strength and ability to survive such a procedure. I should have known better. This man always possessed inner strength and determination and after a suitable convalescence he was able to enjoy a reasonable quality of life.
Mick continued with his involvement at community and parish level and played a big part in fundraising and securing Lottery funding for the Gaultier GAA Club in building the club's fine new dressing rooms and club house.
He retained his interest in GAA and sport in general through the medium of television and enjoyed discussing big games with friends from around the county and country on the phone. One of his last active roles in GAA was to coach the Girls u-12 and u-10 Gaultier Gaelic Football teams which included one of his grand daughters. Eight years after his liver transplant the ever present diabetes problem began to make inroads into the health again and Mick battled bravely over the last twelve months that saw him in good form at his son Eoin's wedding and able to celebrate the arrival of his second grandson, Donagh Grennan whose christening in Ballykelly, New Ross last October was his lasts social outing.
Mick Clifford was a fighter to the end and when he passed away in Waterford Regional Hospital on January last his passing was mourned by his loving family and a wide circle of friends who turned up in great numbers locally and from Kerry. Old friends from Waterford and London relived some great days and reminisced with stories of matches, outings and indeed some wild days that will forever be associated with a man whose generosity of spirit saw him at all times, ready to help others regardless of his own circumstances.
Michael Francis Clifford is survived by his living wife Noirin, son Eoin, daughters Siobhain and Una, grandchildren Sibeal, Saoirse, Hanna and Caoimhe Houlihan, Ciara and Aoife Grennan, daughter in law and sons in law, his sister Kathleen, Eileen, Rose, Breda and Hannagh and nephews and nieces.
Ni bheidh a leitheifd ann aris.
Courtesy of the Waterford News & Star
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