Denis Enright died in Tralee on Friday.
Denis, known as 'Dinny' spent his working life at The Kerryman. He was also a 'small farmer', who lived and farmed in Curraheen, which is a few short kilometres from Tralee on the road to Dingle.
I spent close to 10 years working with Denis at the newspaper, where he was a compositor/graphic designer.
He was always there to solve my problems. Late on Tuesday nights before the paper went to bed and I suddenly discovered that I had made a mistake on a page, Denis would smile, pretend to be annoyed and then accept my request and change the error on the page. He never refused. Not even when I had misplaced a picture or forgot to leave space for an ad.
He was not a company or establishment man. He saw beyond those sort of things.
Once the GAA season began but especially when the championship started Dinny enjoyed planning his trips to Dublin and Cork, or wherever Kerry was playing.
The trips to Dublin, the pretend chasing after that ticket, which he already had in his back pocket, gave a hint into the roguery of a delightful person.
He and his colleague friend Tommy Sweeney made a religion of planning the logistics of their special weekend to the capital for an All Ireland final. And all those stops en route and the rendezvouses in Dublin. At least we were given full accounts on Monday of the non-stop weekend. True or make-believe, did it matter? It was all part of the fun.
Approximately three years ago he collapsed while in Castleisland, the first telltale sign of a brain tumour, which was to kill him.
His funeral Mass takes place in Curraheen church today and burial at Annagh cemetery.
A kind man with a great smile. A gentleman too.
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