Kelly, Arthur

September 16, 2009
The late Arthur Kelly

A large group of friends and family gathered on Sunday and Monday September 6th and 7th, in St. Ibar's Church in Castlebridge to say their goodbyes and pay their respects to Arthur Kelly, who died peacefully in his home on September 5th last.
Arthur was born on October 12 1940, to parents James and Nancy Kelly. He was the third son to a family that included Arthur's brothers Garvan, Kieran, Leo and Frank, and sisters Marianne and Judy.
Arthur's elder brother Kieran died in a car accident when he was just seven. Arthur is survived by the remainder of his brothers and sisters. His younger brother Leo is currently very ill in Philadelphia, our thoughts and prayers are also with him and his family at this time.
Arthur went to primary school in Caroreigh, where his father was headmaster, and secondary school in St. Peter's College and Wexford CBS.
After finishing school, Arthur worked in Johnstown Castle for a period. During this time, Arthur had a real passion for bicycle racing and he spent many days racing as far away as Cork or Dublin, only to race home again on his bike to get to Adamstown Ballroom in time for whatever showband was playing that night.
It was here that Arthur fell in love with Mary Fortune from Doonooney, Adamstown. Together they emigrated to America in 1963 and were married in California in 1964.
Arthur and Mary lived in America until 1970 and there they had their children, Sean, Ann Marie and Paul.
It was in America that Arthur learned to put his outgoing nature and love of banter to good use by becoming a leading salesman in a major US department store.
Arthur and family returned to Ireland in 1970 and lived in a number of places, including two years in Carlow, before finally settling in Castlebridge in 1973.
Arthur will be best known in Wexford for his business 'Arthur Kelly Electrical' on Wexford's Main Street, but he had a few shops before this, including his then famous 'Poundstretcher' shop.
Decades before pound shops became commonplace, Arthur's Poundstretcher sold everything from crockery to record players and became famous for the controversial murals of naked cherubs, from pound notes, on it's front on Common Quay Street.
Arthur loved the craic he had with his customers on the shop floor, the wheeling, dealing and haggling was as much about sport as it was about money for him.
Once the deal was done, Arthur was passionate about taking care of his customers and he spent many an evening travelling the length and breadth of the county to tune in a television set or to replace a faulty washing machine.
Almost the only time of the year Arthur didn't want to talk to, hear from or think about his customers was from 6.01pm on Christmas Eve when he, his staff and his family would close the shop doors and retire to the County Hotel or the Commodore for some well earned refreshment.
But even this break from customer care wouldn't last long, as his family remember the boxes of batteries that always had to be in the home on Christmas morning so Arthur could help support Santa's after sales service for panicked parents who called him at home when all shops were closed on Christmas Day.
Arthur was a keep sports player, coach and fan. As well as bicycle racing he was a GAA enthusiast in his younger days. He played and coached for Shelmaliers during the seventies and was a selector for the county senior football team in the early eighties.
However, it was from coaching kids that Arthur got his greatest satisfaction and he helped coach many underage teams at both club and county level in the late seventies and early eighties.
Arthur went on to become a keen and competitive golfer, winning many club competitions and representing his club well on various teams through the years. Although his regular playing pals remember his tendency on occasion to unintentionally help his opponents by landing his shot in precisely the difficult spot where they had 'helpfully' suggest he avoid.
Arthur was an active member of Rosslare Golf Club and became Captain in 1999. He was sad to miss, and was sadly missed on the tenth anniversary of his Captaincy at the Post Captain's Dinner last Saturday night.
In recent years, Arthur spent a lot of time coaching young golfers in Rosslare and was delighted with and proud to hear of the subsequent success of some of these young players on the club's youth teams in what would be his final weeks with us.
But above all else, Arthur was a family man. With his own parents, his brothers and sisters, his cousins he was great at keeping in touch and looking out for everyone.
For his own family, there was nothing he wouldn't do. His kids Sean, Ann Marie and Paul and his grandkids Seamus, Padhraic, Aoife, Rory, Ciaran and Jack, were his greatest source of pride.
Arthur had a great strength, a strength inspired by his unstinting optimism, confidence and hope. This strength and hope was never more evident than in the way he made the most of life as he battled his illness over the last eighteen months and in the dignity and grace with which he accepted his fate when his battle was finally over.
Arthur's family would like to extend their gratitude to the many people who have shown support and kindness to Arthur throughout his life and to them in these difficult times. May he rest in peace.

Courtesy of The Wexford People
16th September 2009

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