The Late John O'Malley The death took place at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin on March 8 of Mr John O'Malley, Carramore, Liscarney, Westport. John passed away following a long illness borne with quite remarkable courage, good humour and dignity. Just a few weeks earlier he was predeceased by his father, Eddie O'Malley of Carrarevaugh, Liscarney. John was born at home in Carrarevaugh on St. John's Night, June 24, 1953. Having completed his schooling he went on to join the local farming community and set himself up in business as an agricultural contractor. He was an extremely hard worker whose professionalism was recognised by all for whom he carried out work. John had an enquiring and inventive mind and was something of an inventor in his own right. He loved music with passion and he also loved the land, especially the fields, woods and river in Drummin. He loved people and had a special affection for children. Although he shunned the limelight he had a deserved reputation as a proud Dad, a loving husband and a good son and brother. He will be greatly missed by his wife Mary (nee Walsh, Mace), sons Kevin and Tomas, daughter Eibhlin, mother Eileen (nee King), brothers Pat, Eamonn, Vincent, Brendan and Martin, sisters Mary Murphy (Castlebar), Margaret Walsh (Ennis), Evelyn Loughnane (Aughrim, Ballinasloe) and Geraldine McCarthy (Corandulla, Co. Galway), uncle, aunt-in-law, cousins and neighbours, dear friends Sean and Josie Gavin, Godchildren Elaine and Brian O'Malley, work colleagues and many wonderful close friends. Following repose at the Chapel of Rest at the Mater Private Hospital, removal was to Navin's Funeral Home, Westport and from there to the Church of the Sacred Heart, Cushlough. The funeral from Navin's was one of the biggest ever seen in Westport. Fr Denis Carney was the chief celebrant of John's Funeral Mass, assisted by Fr Jackie Conroy, PP, Aughgower, Fr Michael MacGreil, SJ, Fr Gerry Needham, PP, Parke, Fr John Fitzgerald, Cortoon, Co. Galway, former PP Aughagower, Fr Frank O'Gara, Beaumont, Dublin, Fr Paddy Gill, Lecanvey and Fr Michael Nohilly, Breaffy Castlebar. John had planned most aspects of his Funeral Mass which was beautiful in its simplicity. He had specifically asked that there would be no floral wreaths and that donations would be given instead to a worthy cause of his own choosing. Lessons were read by Tom Murphy and Mick Murphy and the psalm was read by Paul Walsh. Prayers of the faithful were read by Elaine O'Malley, Eibhlin O'Malley, Dominick McDonnell, Philip Derrig, Edward O'Malley and Donagh Cummins. Cushlough Church Choir sang their hearts out as did the entire church congregation, accompanied by Lennie Grimes, Sean and Gary O'Malley and by Aideen McPaul on the concert flute. Two of John's favourite songs were sung. 'A Song For Ireland' was beautifully rendered by Lennie Grimes and Gary O'Malley sang 'The Streets of New York' as the coffin was borne to its final resting place 'in a dry spot on the hill above Franceen's. A Guard of Honour at John's removal and funeral included representatives of the Cushlough community, Mayo County Council, Westport GAA and teachers and pupils from Rice College where John's son, Tomas is a Transition Year student. In his homily Fr Carney said that, during his relatively short life, John had a good relationship with God. He recognised the presence and importance of God in his life and responded to that presence through his sharing in the Eucharist and in his own personal prayer. His faith was important to him and he lived it, not in any sanctimonious way, but in a very practical way. Fr Carney continued - 'in all aspects of his life John was a fair man. His attitudes were very fair and he approached everything and everyone in a fair-minded and just way. He was a hard-working man who was well known on farms and homes over a wide area. He saw his customers as friends whom he served and, in his dealings with them, he was scrupulously honest. He loved the land and nature and trees in particular. While he was always associated with tractors he liked nothing more than to walk the land at home or in Drummin. John was a family man through and through. He would never allow anything to come between himself and his love for them. Family were special.They came first always. Time spent with Mary, Kevin, Eibhlin and Tomas was sacred time. When it came to them nothing was too much. But again he didn't make a big thing about it. He saw it as natural and I think one thing that sums up his devotion to Mary is the fact that he told me one day that he didn't buy the bunch of flowers in town but he did pick the bluebells. I thought in many ways it summed up the genuineness of the man we all know. Today we come to lay in the soil of the place he loved so well. There is no easy way of doing that for one so young. There is no easy way to say goodbye to a loved one. As a family you come here with many happy memories of John as a husband, father, son and brother. They are special and always will be. You come also wondering how you can carry this heavy cross. Jesus in today's Gospel recognises that life can be difficult and that we can have heavy burdens to carry when he says 'Come to me all you who are burdened and I will give you support'. As we gather here today with you, our presence and prayer is an expression of our desire as friend and neighbour to support you at this difficult time. It is our way of saying the we are making the difficult journey with you in so far as we can. Our prayers is that you will find in the Lord and in the care of those round you the support that you need at this sad time. Today we gather in sadness but also in faith - a faith that tells us that life is not finished in the grave. Christ overcame the grave and has promised us the same. In today's Gospel Jesus tells us that there are many rooms in his Father's house and that He had gone to prepare a place for us. The faith that brings us here today assures us that the Lord has called John to himself. Mary, Kevin, Eibhlin, Tomas , Eileen and all your family, the road you travel in life today is a rough one. The prayer of everyone here is that your hearts will come to experience the peace and contentment that the Lord alone can give you. May the light of faith, your Christian hope and the great love that you have for one another be your comfort and encouragement at this sad time." In a post-communion reflection John's son Kevin, able assisted by his Uncle Pat, paid the following tribute to his Dad- "Each field and house I passed on the way to Cushlough this morning and each face I see in front of me, overflows with a story of our Father. These stores will be kept alive through your presence and through the sights of this area around us that we call home. He was a man of many talents, many qualities and many experiences. As a man of great humour, love and uniqueness, I want to reflect this with a story or two. Many years ago, having proudly reclaimed a field in his beloved Drummin, John decided to use the same field as a vantage point to observe a funeral which was coming to Drummin church. It being a mild summer's day, he took off his "BLUE" jumper and placed it on the wall. He settled himself against the wall with his elbows resting on the jumper....vigilant. It was in this same, elbows-down, head-up state that he jerked himself into action....two hours later. The hearse had come and gone, the people had seen and said, but John had just slept and slept. Simple pleasures pleased this man, a weekend in Killarney, a Monday night Western on TG4 or even watching a frame or two of snooker where his hero was Steve Davis. He attended plenty of football matches down through the years despite a constantly proclaimed ignorance of all sport. He was an artist with a spanner and breathed life into machines with an insatiable desire to get them running smoothly. I have heard his being described as a 'squeak-freak' in that he couldn't settle until there was no grating, no grinding or missing. It was easy to see how he could come to adoringly appreciate the artists of medicine when they displayed the same resolve in addressing his illness. It was mentioned that his father, Eddie, was a man who could improvise, so it is no wonder John had a good grounding in this 'craft'. On one occasion, when little more than a child, he was bringing a load of turf home from the bog with the ass. The 'hames' strap broke and when out neighbour, Nora Heraty, asked him how he managed he replied -'Well I had a stump of a rosary beads in my pocket and I tied it around the hames and it got me home.' As a servant of the public he had few equals, but when the work was done and he came in the back door, he was above all, our Daddy." John was laid to rest on the high ground in the cemetery adjoining Cushlough Church. In accordance with his own wishes, donations in lieu of flowers were requested for the Haiti Orphanage Fund of local girl Gina Heraty of Currarevaugh Liscarney. The account at AIB stays open. May his noble and gentle soul have peaceful rest. Courtesy of the Mayo News 29th March 2005 Tweet

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