People of Distinction who were either born in or lived part of their life in Clonmel.

UNA TROY: Irish Writer
Born May 21, 1910 in Fermoy, County Cork, Una Troy was the daughter of John and Bridget (Hayes) Troy. In 1931 she married Joseph C. Walsh, doctor, and lived her married life in Clonmel, County Tipperary.
She began her writing career under the name of Elizabeth Connor, publishing her first novel Mount Prospectat Methuen (London) in 1936 when she was 26. This book was banned in Ireland. Her second novel of that period, Dead Star's Light,was published by Methuen (London) in 1938.

In 1940 she adapted Mount Prospectfor the stage, winning the Shaw 1st Prize from the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's National Theatre where it was successfully produced. She continued to write for the Abbey Theatre, producing three more plays: Swans and Geese(1941), Apple A Day(1942), and Dark Road (1947), which was based on her novel Dead Star's Light.

She had two short stories published in this earlier period of writing as Elizabeth Connor: " The White Gloves," Ireland Today, Sept. 1937 and "The Apple," The Bell, Oct. 1942. "The Apple" has appeared in anthologies of Irish writing, including the Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing Volumes 4 & 5 released from Cork University Press.

Beginning in the mid-fifties she published all her work as Una Troy, producing fifteen novels, published in both London and America. Her novel We Are Seven, published by Heinemann in London in 1955, was adapted to a film, "She Didn't Say No" for which she was the co-writer. The film was England's official entry in the Brussels World Film Festival in 1958, and was banned in Ireland as being "immoral."

Following her death in 1993, her daughter Janet Helleris, found an unpublished manuscript "Fly By These Nets" in her mother's papers. In 2001 this manuscript, written in English, was translated into German and published by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich as Das Meer ist Music.It has not yet been published in English.

© 2002 Ann M. Butler e-mail

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THE WORK OF ELIZABETH CONNOR/UNA TROY
Member: Society of Authors, Playwrights and Composers, P.E.N., Soroptimists
Written as Elizabeth Connor:
Plays: Mount Prospect, 1940 (Shaw 1st prize-Abbey Theatre)
Swans and Geese, 1941
Apple A Day, 1942
Dark Road, 1947
Novels:
Mount Prospect, 1936 (Methuen) (No House of Peace, US, 1937)
Dead Star’s Light, 1938 (Methuen)
Short Stories:
“The White Gloves,” Ireland Today,Sept. 1937;“The Apple,” The Bell, Oct. 1942

Written as Una Troy:
Novels:
We Are Seven, 1955 (Heinemann)
Maggie, 1958 (Heinemann)...Miss Maggie and the Doctor (US)
The Workhouse Graces, 1960 (Heinemann)...Graces of Ballykeen (US)
The Other End of the Bridge, 1960 (Heinemann)
Esmond, 1962 (Hedder and Stoughton)
The Brimstone Halo, 1965 (Henry Hornbuth)...The Prodigal Father (US)
The Benefactors, 1969 (Hale)
The Castle Nobody Wanted, 1970 (Hale)
Tiger Puss, 1970 (Hale)
Stop Press, 1971 (Hale)
Doctor Go Home, 1973 (Hale)
Out Of Everywhere, 1976 (Hale)
Caught in the Furze, 1977 (Hale)
A Sack of Gold, 1979 (Hale)
So True a Fool, 1981 (Hale)
(U.S.publisher: Dutton)
Short Stories:
“The Best Butter,” Kilkenny Magazine, Spring-Summer 1966.
Film:
“She Didn’t Say No” 1958 (co-writer, based on Troy's novel, We Are Seven)

Unpublished novels in manuscript form:
Better to Burn
Fly By These Nets (published as Das Meer ist Musik, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 2001)

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1971 - 1981

The Guinness in O’Donoghue’s Pub (Gladstone Street) always tasted the best. You knew you would have to wait until it had been properly poured and if you were really lucky you could drink it in the comfort of the snug.

And so it was that in such reverend surroundings Arthur Deady and Joe Holden decided it was time to resurrect and kick start The Clonmel Athletic Club.

Like all good Irish folk, the more alcohol consumed the greater and more exciting became the plans. By closing time, it was agreed that there would be both an indoor and an outdoor track within no time at all. Sure there’d be no problem in raising the funds!

Of course there had to be a club vest - and its colour became a heated point of discussion. It didn’t seem to matter that, at this stage, there were no athletes to wear them. No, the colour was a critical point and after much arguing, it was Arthur Deady’s insistence on maroon and blue that won out. He was a West Ham supporter!

This had to be the ugliest combination of colours ever seen on an athletic vest. Fortunately, at least for Clonmel A.C., West Ham were relegated in 1978 and it was decided then to seize the moment and the colours were duly changed to green and white, a combination, which still prevails to this day.

Whilst the present club can trace its history back to the 70’s, there had long been a history of athletics in Clonmel and for this the contribution of people such as Bill Hyland and his wife Mairead, Mick Navin, Sean Cleary and Jack O’Gorman and others must never be forgotten.

And so from the fertile ground of O’Donoghues Pub, the first seeds of the re-constituted Clonmel A.C. began. Once the hangovers disappeared, reality hit home, with the first major issue needing to be resolved - where would training take place. With a zero balance bank account, options were extremely limited, in fact you could say they were nil.

In 1971, if you preached ‘Health and Safety’, someone in a white coat would have whisked you off to the Cuckoo’s Nest (Oh! for the good old days). With the bliss of such ignorance, it was decided that the club’s ‘home ground’ would be the small adjoining road off the Fethard Road, which led to Kitty O’Donnell’s pub. During that first winter of 1971, aerobic and anaerobic (in those days such terrible language was never used! - or should that be understood?) sessions were conducted under ‘floodlights’, generously sponsored by ESB. Sorry that should read street lights! Additional lighting was provided by passing vehicles, who either had to slow down until the road was cleared or who stopped in disbelief at the sight of a ragged bunch of freezing children doing press ups on a public road.

Demonstrating true coaching professionalism, Messrs Deady and Holden would always retire to the comfort of Kitty’s pub for post training analysis. Some of the first athletes to be involved with the Club in those early days included, Billy Fox and his brother Derek, Seamus Harvey, Timmy Guidera, and Tony Ahearne.

Within 12 months membership had grown to 60+ and training HQ was shifted to Marlfield for the summer months and the Five Star car park 9 (known now as Mary Street Carpark) for the winter months. Sessions in the car park always finished off with a game of football, which was fierce both in rivalry and intensity. The sight of Tony (“Bull”) Butler charging in for a tackle was a sight to behold. Many the bruised shin resulted. But the crack was always mighty and the club was providing an invaluable outlet to so many young kids, with the provision of healthy activity in a disciplined environment.

In those early and formative years the Club’s “home ground” changed on many occasions. Venues included, the Army gym, the Our Lady’s hall in Morton Street, the Parochial Hall in Mary Street, Marlfield and of course the High School field, where the club not only took over the playing field, but also the bicycle shed, which was used to store all the club’s equipment, hurdles, high jump mat etc etc. The “track”, which occasionally had its grass cut was marked out with flags and the long jump pit - well it was a sight for sore eyes and it never had enough sand. It is interesting to reflect back on this as the same pit would, almost certainly, fail any health and safety inspection today, yet the distances being jumped by those young athletes back in the 70’s virtually all surpass the distances, which athletes of similar ages can jump today!

On any trip down Memory Lane, Dessie Mullins always likes to recall the story about the long jump pit. The Club was having its annual sports day and the day before, it was discovered that there was hardly any sand at all in the pit. Emergency procedures were adopted - a trailer was sourced and a visit (after dark) was made across town to the school grounds of the Presentation Convent, where the said trailer was duly loaded up with sand “borrowed” from their newly created long jump pit. The principle of needs must at its very best. To this day, the “crime remains unsolved”!!!

While on the subject of sand, there were, of course, those famous training trips to Tramore. Taking a tip from the training regime of the then world famous Percy Wells Cerutty (coach to Peter Snell, Herb Elliott and many others), the Club’s more talented athletes occasionally trained on Tramore’s infamous and grueling sand dunes. Usually these sessions took place during the winter with the howling breeze and mist blowing in from the sea, both providing additional pressure to these extremely tough sessions. It was many the time that relics of an athlete’s inside were left on the sand. It is said, there is still a relic of Monica Clooney to be found! Such extreme efforts were, however, rewarded, with the club enjoying spectacular successes at county, provincial and national level.

Volunteers are often difficult to find and slow to come forward. In those very early days, many of the necessary functions were often carried out by the same person. One of the first to become actively involved in an administrative capacity was Niall O’Sullivan and it is testament to his character that he remains involved - and very much so - to this present day. Niall quickly got himself engrossed in the myriad of administrative activities and also became one of the Club’s leading coaches. It was fitting that his contribution was recognised and rewarded with a full Mayoral reception in 2004.Mention Peter Kiernan – he was our Shot putt Coach from Dublin – he was also our Treasurer in 1973.

Vincent Fox (R.I.P.) was the Club’s unofficial “transport manager”, as it was Vincent’s van which was used to ferry athletes back and forth to various track meetings. No seat belts in those days - just pile into the back of the van, fit as many as possible and drive away. With a healthy mixture of boys and girls, shyness, if present, would soon disappear. Soon membership began to swell and the Fox Mobile became redundant with the club now having to hire full size buses, and they were always packed. A small few of the younger athletes were not the best of travelers and one in particular, young Johnny Landy, regularly provided evidence of his previous evening’s dinner. This would usually occur about 15 miles into the journey, and whilst you could set your watch by him, strangely, he never succeeded in getting the bus to stop on time. The task of clean up was usually left to either Niall or Joe. The same John Landy, in later years, went on to become a prolific road runner and active senior member of the Club..

For many in the Club, the Saturday or Sunday trips to meetings were the highlight of their week. And indeed they were great fun. Always a sing song on the bus, always good craic and always a successful outcome on the track. On one such occasion after a trip to Templemore, it was decided that the Club would treat all of the athletes to a (healthy!) meal of fish and chips, to celebrate what had been a really good set of results. Consequently, the bus arrived back in Clonmel at the Rink Service Station (this was the usual port of departure and arrival) about 30 minutes later than had been expected. One of the parents became extremely irate about this and as he saw Joe Holden stepping off the bus, he swung at him with a heavy instrument, which fortunately missed its intended target. Strange but true. The same parent did, sometime later, apologise.

In the early 70‘s the Club’s office was located in the attic of 3 Prior Park Terrace and the patience of Mrs. Gertrude Holden (Joe’s Mum) was often tested with callers regularly climbing up to the top of the house, where teams were selected, press releases written and plans hatched.

Apart from Holden ,Deady and O’Sullivan, other original helpers and coaches with the Club included Tony (Slacks) Ryan, Michael (Mungo) Cagney and Seamus Harvey - always good for a laugh. With the passage of time, the Club widened its reliance on this small army of helpers and over the years there was a very considerable input from a number of really great and enthusiastic people, such as: - Paddy Mullins, Peter Kieran, Dick and Hilda Delaney, Tony and Margaret Denmeade, Elizabeth McCarthy, Eugene O’Donnell, Sean White, Sean Clooney, Jimmy Clancy, Billy O’Reilly, Jim Cliffe, Michael Hickey, J J Killian, Billy and Ruth Keeley. Betty Hewitt, Nuala Tobin, Dick McAuley, John O’Reilly, Bernie Fennessy, Eddie Carolan and Eddie Cooney. As always, when writing historically, it is very easy to omit names. To those who may have been omitted - apologies.

Some of the names above have, sadly, passed on, leaving their loved ones behind. Such is life, but it is particularly difficult to accept the demise of some of the athletes. Geraldine O’Donnell, one of the Club’s most outstanding female athletes died last year. This was a huge shock to all who knew her. Her sisters, Marion and Edele, were also a member of the Club and her Mum, Nancy, was a keen supporter.

All of the members of the Club, in those days, were winners in their own right. Winners for turning up, in their hundreds, to training on cold and wet winter nights, running around the streets of Clonmel, completing laps of Powerstown race track, beating the challenge of the sand dunes and so on. Of course not all could be outstanding. There follows a list of those who individually distinguished themselves at national and international level and again apologies to anyone whose name has been inadvertently omitted: -

Robert Denmeade; Margaret, Hilda and Anne Delaney; John O'Brien; Seamus Clancy, John Fitzgerald; Dessie Doyle; Paula Kearns; Brendan White; Anthony O’Brien; Paul MacGabhann; Desmond, Vincent and Jacinta Mullins; Geraldine O’Donnell (R.I.P.); Michael Power; Monica Clooney; Denis O’Mahoney;

There were many many more very talented athletes whose contribution to the club, both as individuals and members of relay or cross-country teams was invaluable. Arguably, perhaps the most outstanding achievement of the Club in those days was not recognised until many years later. At a function in June 1998, when those good old days were being recalled, it was wonderful to hear so many former athletes acknowledge that their involvement and association with the Club had had a profoundly positive impact, teaching them respect, discipline and a healthy lifestyle.

In many ways the Club was ahead of its time. Just as high standards were set for all of the athletes, so too did the Club establish high standards for itself in some of its more innovative departures. These included trips to the Crystal Palace, home of British Athletics, where training sessions were arranged with leading international coaches, such as Tom McNab. These trips were an amazing experience for the Cub’s athletes at the time, most of who had never been outside of Ireland. Then there were the annual dinner dances, which soon became one of the town’s social highlights of the year, aided in no small way with the attendance of Eamonn Coghlan as guest of honour. Affectionally known as Chairman of the Boards and Master of the Mile, Eamonn still retains fond memories of his ties with the Club. On one such visit he went for a training run with some of the Club’s athletes. Imagine their excitement, going training with the world’s fastest indoor miler.

Other innovations included the staging of the town’s Community Games, with an opening ceremony “mirroring” that of the Olympic Games. To expand - well there was the “Olympic Torch” - an analysis of which would discover that it was a painted Heinz Beans tin can, with a few holes so that it could be tied to a wooden pole. The can was stuffed with flammable material and was carried alight through the town by a relay of runners. The torch relay was led in a car driven by Joe Holden, with Niall O’Sullivan in the passenger seat providing a running commentary, via a megaphone protruding from the front window. Niall’s commentary skills were severely tested, when just as the relay passed by the Main Guard, the lighting can fell off the top of the pole and smashed to the ground. London 2012 - take note, the best laid plans and all that..........

The trips to London were always full of incident, many good, many funny, some scary. The latter brings back memories of the 1974 trip. Running behind schedule, on one of the days, the kids were given the choice of either taking some lunch or going to the Tower of London. Lunch won the vote and as the kids and their minders sat happily eating, a thunderous sound was heard, followed by a huge pall of smoke. Just some hundreds of yards away, a bomb had gone off in the Tower, killing two people and injuring 42. Back in Clonmel, it was known by the parents that a visit to the Tower was on the Club’s itinerary for that day. The panic and fear were palpable.

London is a very large city and it is easy to get lost. Whenever the athletes would emerge from having visited a place, the mandatory headcount was undertaken. On one such occasion after a visit to Selfridges on Oxford Street, all of the athletes lined up one by one outside the store - to the command of a whistle - much to the amusement of passers-by. This particular headcount showed up one short. Over 40 minutes later, Elizabeth Gaffney was found in deep discussion with one of the make-up ladies in the store. She was never late again.

These trips and other innovations elevated the Club to new heights and a mixture of respect and envy ensued. However it was the performances of the athletes, which mattered most and in that respect they delivered at county, provincial, national and international level. Membership, by the mid to late 70’s had reached an astonishing 300+


Inevitably such growth was not without its tensions and difficulties. Whilst the involvement of parents was essential and very much needed and appreciated, sometimes the enthusiasm demonstrated was such that it interfered with and contradicted the views of the coaches. On issues of selection and tactics etc, there were often heated debates. At one stage the situation became so problematic that an EGM was summoned at which the entire coaching staff threatened to resign unless they were given carte blanche on all issues pertaining to coaching, tactics and athlete selection. Common sense prevailed, with the coaches demands being agreed to.

The need for parents to be involved is essential, more so then ever today with the plethora of health and safety issues, regulations etc etc. However, parents should not and must not interfere with the work of the coaches. Far too often there have been situations where the young athlete is bombarded with conflicting instructions coming from a mixture of parents, team managers, coaches etc.

Other highlights included the Club’s annual Christmas party, run on a shoe string but always hugely enjoyable. As well as the food and entertainment, this event also included the annual awards ceremony, when accolades were awarded to various athletes. There are fond memories too of the occasional use of illegally acquired poteen to loosen out stiff limbs. Imagine health and safety reaction to such practices today!

The subject of health and safety brings back memories of a legendary trip to Dublin for a national championship. Given that the Club was not flush with funds any effort to reduce costs was always welcome. And so on this occasion Joe Holden provided the transport via his Renault 4 - remember the car with its gear stick on the dashboard. At best this car was designed to carry no more than five passengers - six at the very very outside. Suffice to say, there were more than six, much more. Having to stop in Naas for a much needed break, two of the athletes fell out on the road when the back passenger door was opened.

Open meetings were always fun. Free from the pressures associated with championship meets, they provided opportunities for the athletes to experiment with other events. Often there was an award for the highest scoring team on the day and so some athletes would be required to participate in as many events as possible, if it was thought that points could be picked up. Killenaule, Tipperary Town, Nenagh, Roscrea were all popular venues for these open meets. The rivalry with these clubs was intense, always sporting, but always intense. These clubs had their own great characters and names such as Michael Guinan, Breeda Christie, Liam Hennessey (now President of Athletics Ireland), Sean Naughton, Tony Hassett all spring to mind. Indeed it is not that long ago that Breeda Christie - still going strong - received national recognition for her contribution to the sport.

In 1980, Joe Holden won the Clonmel Person of the Year award. Following the presentation made by the then Mayor, Ald. Carrie Acheson, Joe responded by saying that what had been achieved by the Club could not have been so had it not been for the small army of very dedicated coaches and committee members and that the award was dedicated to them. It is particularly pleasing to note that the Club is today blessed with a very solid army of volunteers, whose continued and dedicated involvement is reaping considerable success at all levels, including international.

There are many who helped the Club during those formative years. One such person who must not be forgotten is Fr Lavelle of Rockwell College. He was a superb track and field coach who had a great technical knowledge across a wide and diverse range of disciplines. He was very instrumental in passing on this expertise to the Club’s coaches at that time.

As mentioned earlier, there is always a danger when recounting episodes of times past that names will be forgotten and omitted. Once again,at the risk of doing just that, the following is a list of names, not already mentioned, who were an integral part of that wonderful era. Listed in no particular: - Bridget Mullins; Seamus Mullins; Joe Delaney; Geraldine Cantwell; Francis Cantwell; Tommy Murphy; Clare Ryan; Paddy Landy; Noreen Landy; Andrew Burke; Patricia O’Shea; Mary Joe Noonan; J J Smyth, Valerie Fraher; Patricia McAuley; Joe Hill; Anthony Hill; Toss Hill; Bernie Hill; Martin (‘snot’) Johnson; Bernie Cadogen; Jack Bergin; Noelle Reddin; John Reddin, Jerome Tobin, Brendan Denmeade, Michael Hickey; Chris Ahearne; Padraig Cliffe; Derek Nolan; Dolores Kennedy; Tina Behan; Jimmy Maunsell; Kevin Maunsell; Mandy Gregory; Catherine Delaney; Clare Denmeade; Verona Johnson; Oonagh O’Brien; Chris Tobin; Patricia Bolger; Gerard O’Reilly; Michael Carey; Eamon O’Meara; Paul Reid; Anne Hewitt; John Garrett; Andy Hickey; Kevin Ambrose; Clair Maunsell (RIP), Deirdre o Meara, Tommy Murphy, Kevin Fraher, Pearl Fraher, Alice Connolly, Tony Mullins, Michael Cagney, Ritchie Wade, Barry Lalor, Josephine Hickey, Patsy Hickey, Martin Hickey, Noreen Hickey, Larry Fahey, Martin O Brien, Andy Hickey, Paul Keeley, Aileen Power, Jude Barry, Mary O Brien, Bernadette Power, David Cantwell, Alice Kearney, Tommy Byrne, Mark Hogan, Eamon O Meara, Michael Connolly, Sheila Connolly, John Brett, Marian Brett, Valerie King, Paul McCarthy, Pat o Donoghue, Tom “Biffo” O Keeffe, Barbara Hahessy, Linda King, Michael Fitzgerald, Patrick Kearney, Edel o Donnell, Frances Cockburn, Bernadette McAuley, Noel Conway, Brenda Goodman, Stella McGrath, Eddie Anderson, Derek Pyke, Valerie Crowley, Celestine Morrison, Eddie Grimson, Paul Morrissey, Paschal Kavanagh, Bobby Kennedy, Paul Smith, Gillian Keyes, Rosemarie Carroll, Declan Gavigan, Eileen Bergin, Carmel Bergin, Maura O Neill, Aine Ahearne, Brett McGrath,
Johnny Ryan, Tim Northwood, Bobby Farrell, Breda Hayes – all Seniors

Whether your name is included here or not, it is to be hoped that you will have fond memories of those wonderful days. Times, which were without much of the technology which far too often blights our lives. Its invasiveness and addictive characteristics have resulted in generations of young people incapable of anything much more energetic than texting. There is a famous quote, which reads “Sit as little as possible. Give no credence to any thought that was not born outdoors, while one moved about freely-in which the muscles are not celebrating a feast too”. The problems of obesity and inactivity are all round us. Be in no doubt whatsoever that failure to address these issues will have a catastrophic outcome and impact for many generations to come.

Recounting these times has brought back some very happy memories. No doubt there are many stories not included here, but the overriding memory is one of immense satisfaction that a Club, which had so little in the way of facilities and financial resources, overcame those and indeed many other obstacles to become one of the most successful clubs of its time. For a time, it was the most successful Club at the annual National Relays, winning more medals, across the age groups, than any other club in the country.

Of much greater importance and significance, however, is the fact that now 40 years later, the Club is stronger than ever. A far cry from the Fox mobile and the Fethard Road, based at its own track, which includes a very impressive all-weather training area, the Club has a very dedicated team of coaches and officials, all of whom are achieving excellent results through their athletes. The legacy of those early years has not only been retained but surpassed.

40 years from now, when today’s athletes gather together, they too will recount the very positive influences of their association with Clonmel Athletic Club.

Father John O'Connor (1870–1952), a Roman Catholic parish priest in Bradford, Yorkshire, was the basis of G. K. Chesterton's fictional detective Father Brown. O'Connor was instrumental in Chesterton's conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1922. He also received the poet and painter David Jones into the Church in 1921, and was associated with Eric Gill and The Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic at Ditchling.

Born on 5 December 1870 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland, O'Connor was educated by the Franciscans and Christian Brothers until the age of twelve, at which point he left for Douai in Flanders to study at the English Benedictine College. He later studied theology and philosophy at the English College in Rome. He was ordained at St. John Lateran on 30 March 1895. O'Connor served as curate at St. Joseph's in Bradford, England, and later at St. Marie's, Halifax, West Vale and St. Anne's, Keighley. From 1909 to 1919, O'Conner was parish priest of Heckmondwike, where he helped build the Church of the Holy Spirit. It was in Keighley that O'Connor met the writer G. K. Chesterton in 1904. He would later receive Chesterton into the Roman Catholic faith in 1922. O'Connor served as parish priest at St. Cuthbert's from 1919 until his death. In 1937 he was made Privy Chamberlain to His Holiness. John O'Connor died in the Sisters' of Mercy Nursing Home at Horsforth on 6 February 1952.[1]

For more see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O%27Connor_(priest)

Clonmel driver finally makes switch to electric cars - at age 100

Walsh learned to drive in a Ford Model T in 1930s but Nissan Leaf is his first brand new car

He learned to drive in a Ford Model T more than 80 years ago, and now he’s made the switch to an electric car at the age of 100.

Clonmel man John Walsh must be one of the few drivers anywhere able to compare the two.

He started driving in the 1930s behind the wheel of his father’s Ford Model T and has just bought a Nissan Leaf.

It’s the first brand new car he has ever bought - a spending decision partly influenced by the low interest rates he’s getting on his savings, but also reflecting concern for the environment.

Mr Walsh, who celebrates his 101st birthday on September 10th, was told by Nissan the zero emissions Leaf would have brought him fuel savings worth €120,000 if the car had existed for his whole motoring life.

“I would never have dreamt of buying a car at this stage”, he said. “My motivation was to do something to improve the environment and to conserve the supply of fossil fuels. The banks are paying no interest, so I decided to spend my money on an EV to do my own little bit to protect the environment.”

He intends to use the car for trips into town and to visit friends.

“There are a few places that I’d like to visit soon like Dungarvan, Holy Cross or Mount Mellerary Abbey, which is quite a special place and somewhere I used to visit quite a bit in earlier years.”

Mr Walsh, who retired as chief accountant with Bulmers in 1981, said another goal is to make a trip to Foynes to visit the place where he grew up and first sat behind the wheel of a car as a teenage driver.

He said he was “about 15 or 16 years old” when he first drove his father’s Model T around the garage at the BP installation in Foynes where his father was manager
“He had a few of them in his day and we used them to go back to Cork. It was a hell of a journey, 70 miles each way, driving 20mph at best. We had two accidents and I wasn’t in either, which was quite the achievement.”

He said he can vividly recall how fuel shortages led to the collapse of private and public transport during World War II, forcing him to take up cycling. He was working in Dublin at the time and used to cycle to Limerick where he met and first dated his late wife Brigid (Ciss).

Mr Walsh said his first car was an early secondhand VW. “It had cable brakes and you had to anticipate stopping. That was around 1953. I drove a company car from 1960 until I retired.

“I am convinced that we have to do something about global warming and pollution. I am a late convert to environmental protection and a bit of a late starter driving an electric car but this is my way of playing my part. My son also enjoys driving the car on longer distances, but I have priority on it.”

Vizzy wrote: »

^^^^^^

Why does that make Mr Walsh a person of distinction ?

Is it the fact that he has lived to 100 ?

I do not know too many people who buy a new car at the approach of their 101st.birthday.

The First Earl of Clonmel.

There was a real Copper Face(d) Jack – On this day, 8 June 1739

It’s the most famous night club in Ireland. By day it’s an innocuous basement in Harcourt Street, by night it’s frequented by people out to have a good time, or to get drunk, or both. The legend of Copper Face Jacks has not dimmed despite the supposed impoverishment of the entire island of Ireland since 2007. But who exactly was Copper Face Jack.

Actually he was the grammatically more accurately Copper-faced Jack, and his real name was John Scott, 1st Earl of Clonmel and Lord Earlsfort

John Scott, aka the Earl of Clonmel, aka Copper-faced Jack, was born 274 years ago, on this day 8 June 1739.

https://mylesdungan.com/tag/earl-of-clonmel/

Extract taken from an article published by the Irish Times Wednesday 2nd January, 2019

A forgotten Irish master of music, musical performance and mysticism

Maud MacCarthy, who also went under the pseudonym Swami Omananda Puri.

A celebrated violin soloist by the age of 20, Clonmel born Maud MacCarthy went on to become a writer, ethnomusicologist, mystic and pioneer in the field of music therapy.

She was an Irish musician who was born in Clonmel in 1882 and died, a month short of her 85th birthday, in Douglas on the Isle of Man in 1967; she was buried at Glastonbury.

MacCarthy appeared as a violin soloist with two of America's greatest orchestras.

She played the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February 1902 when she was 19, and the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra the following November, still aged only 20.

This is an achievement that has not yet been replicated by any later Irish string player.

Her family emigrated to Australia when she was two, but she returned to Europe in 1892 and studied with the Spanish violinist Enrique Arbos.

Frederick Henry Boland (11 January 1904 – 4 December 1985) was an Irish diplomat who served as the first Irish Ambassador to both the United Kingdom and the United Nations.[1] Boland was married to the painter Frances Kelly and had five children including their daughter, Eavan Boland, who is a leading Irish poet.

His father was born in Clonmel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Boland

PEOPLE remember Mark Hely Hutchinson for two reasons. As the jockey who twice rode Arkle - and lost. And as the Guinness boss who, when asked his opinion of the vastly-hyped new 'Guinness Light', replied with searing honesty, "Ghastly" - a conclusion endorsed by the consumer.

As expected from a second son of Lord Donoghmore, Mark Hely Hutchinson travelled the predictable route through Eton, Oxford and the British Army (Brigade of Guards) before taking up a senior job in St James's Gate. Highly rated, he might have landed the top Guinness job but this went to Ernest Saunders and Guinness Group changed forever. Instead, Hutchinson moved on to head up Bank of Ireland. Cruelly bad timing eventually lost him the confidence of the BoI board. In 1990, after seven years in charge, he was given three hours notice to quit.

"Mark Hely-Hutchinson was chief executive of Bank of Ireland from 1983 to 1990. He was perhaps the last gentleman in Irish banking. He treated everyone who worked for him with dignity and respect. He could give a sincere Christian answer to the question of what he thought corporate government to be: “I think that very simply, that corporate governance includes behaving to your customers and to your staff and to the public the way you would like other people to deal with you.” And if we want to understand the abysmal ethics of Irish banking, we might recall the fate of one of the great lost documents of modern Ireland: Mark Hely-Hutchinson’s abortive code of conduct for bankers." Extract from article by Fintan O'Toole

Sir Thomas Osborne.

Constructed the Bridge at Ferryhouse, Clonmel in 1690.

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