I first met Andy in Tallaght in 1969. I was a young Dominican student and Andy was the postman, who delivered the mail in the village. He lived in Newtown, which was considered 'old Tallaght'.
He was a small man, at the time unmarried. A great talker. Interested in football and horses. Always a yarn from him and genuinely interested in people. He had a special loyalty to the Dominicans, a loyalty that would stay with him to the last day of his life.
He married Celine in his late 40s. She was 10 years his junior. He often mentioned her name to me and in a joking fashion would pretend to blame her for the loss of his freedom.
Approximately three months ago he was diagnosed to be seriously ill with cancer. A friend and colleague of mine told me he had been hospitalised. Since that time I have been a regular visitor to his bedside. There I met his wife for the first time. And what a lady. The care she took of him. Clean pyjamas every day. And all those little things that people who love do.
I was able to tell her I knew him since 1969 but as I left Tallaght in 1974 we had only been in contact sporadically in the intervening years.
Back in 1969 we'd often talk about horses. Lester Piggott won the Derby on Nijinsky the following summer. Forty-three years later it came back to me that Andy had said that I was the best tipster he ever knew. I'm sure he meant to say, 'Commane was the best trickster he ever knew'.
Seemingly every time he met my colleague friend he would ask for me. He must have been my only fan.
In these last days I have been greatly moved to see what a holy man he was. Last Sunday when I arrived in his room he was visibly weak. He had difficulty moving his finger from one bead to the next on his Rosary.
A parishioner told me that when serving the 08.00 Mass in the Priory church in Tallaght, which he attended daily, when he would see someone coming into the church during Mass he would wave down to them.
At the funeral Mass of Damien Byrne, a former Master of the Order and a ardent Manchester United fan, Andy asked could he place a Manchester United jersey on the coffin. His request was refused by the prior at the time, the late Gus Doherty.
Andy had to wait many years to be made a permanent postman as he had not passed the required Irish exam for the job.
Christianity worked for Andy. He was a holy man. He was a good and great person.
It has been a privilege to have known Andy and had I not joined the Dominicans most likely I would never have met and got to know the man.
Andy was in his 83rd year.
His funeral Mass is in Tallaght on Tuesday in the Priory church he so much loved.
On leaving Kiltipper Nursing Home this morning, where Andy's remains were lying in repose, I recognised this elderly man walking towards the entrance.
It was former taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. We spoke to one another. His wife is a resident in the nursing home.
He told me he has been 80 years attending Mass in the Dominican Priory in Tallaght.
He is 93 and what a gentle smile on his face.
I noted he was carrying a bag. Probably doing exactly what Celine had been doing for Andy. Love.
1 comment:
I'm sorry to hear Andy died. I met him last summer when staying in the prioy and concelebrating over two weeks at the 8am Mass. He was always in good form and very friendly and talkative. RIP.
Post a Comment