PEOPLE THROUGHOUT the New Ross district were saddened last week to learn of the passing of Michael Keane, Cullenstown, Duncormick.
Michael, who would have celebrated his 86th birthday on St. Patrick’s Day, passed away unexpectedly in Millhouse Care Home in the early hours of Friday, March 13, having only entered the centre for convalescent care less than a week earlier.
His remains were laid to rest in Carrig-on-Bannow Cemetery, on Sunday, March 15, following Requiem Mass in Mary Immaculate & St. Joseph’s Church.
He and his beloved wife, Anne, would also have celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day.
The unexpected nature of his passing brought great shock and sadness to his family who are still trying to come to terms with his loss.
Originally from Tullycanna, Michael was known all over the district and worked in a number of different jobs – all of which he excelled in.
A qualified farrier he served his time in his uncle, Pat Twomey’s, forge in Foulksmills and he later became a blacksmith and a qualified fitter.
He worked in the Albatros factory in New Ross for 19 years, as a fitter and shop steward, and having taken voluntary redundancy from there in the early 1980s he set up his own very successful mini-bus business through which he became well known all over the county.
More popularly known as Mick or Mikey people knew him wherever he went.
One time when he and his wife travelled to France they had only just disembarked from the boat and were walking along the quay in Cherbourg when one of the first people they met greeted them with a hearty ‘howya Mikey’.
The regard in which Michael was held by everyone who knew him was underlined by the fact that when members of his family were greeted by people they might not have seen for a while the greeting was usually “how’s the bossman?”, or “how’s Mick?”
Michael and Anne lived in Cullenstown since 1981 where he was instrumental in setting up the local Development Association.
Prior to that they lived in Carrigadaggin, Newbawn, where Michael was very well known and respected within the local community. They also lived in Coolcotts in Wexford for a short period of time.
His talent for metal fabricating and engineering was renowned and the playground in Newbawn National School bears testimony to his skill as goalposts he made and erected there over 30 years ago are still in use today.
Michael had many interests and was very proud of his time spent in the FCA. During his time in the organisation such was his ability with a rifle that he was able to light a match from 50 yards away.
He loved history and had a passionate interest in World War II and in particular, Adolf Hitler.
Perhaps, that interest was borne out him witnessing, when aged 11, the Luftwaffe bombing an area close to his home in Tullycanna a couple of minutes before they infamously bombed Campile village.
He often recalled that event and said: “It flew low enough to make out the German markings on the wings and as it did my aunt looked up and said look at the butterflies following it. The ‘butterflies’ promptly fell to the ground and blew a crater almost 60 feet wide and 40 feet deep in a field close to where we were watching.”
Michael often recalled to his family that the bombs didn’t hit them but they were nearly killed by the turnips ‘that were like projectiles after being blown up about 100 feet in the air’.
Michael was one of the wittiest men you could meet and on one occasion when being seen by a doctor about an infection in his leg he asked the doctor what might have caused it and was given the reply: “I’m afraid it’s just old age.”
Quick as a flash Michael replied: “It couldn’t be that sure the other leg is grand and that’s the same age.”
There was another occasion, a stormy day at home in Cullenstown, when looking out at the sea from the kitchen one of the family commented “I wouldn’t like to be out there in a boat today”.
Straight away with his usual wit Michael replied: “Well I wouldn’t like to be out there without one.”
He had an outgoing, friendly personality that made people instantly feel at ease when in his company. His ability to talk was renowned and on one occasion having brought a mini-bus load of music fans to a Status Quo concert in Cork he parked up in the bus car park and got talking to the man on the security gate. One conversation led to another and he finally ended up seeing the concert seated alongside the then Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, in the VIP box!
He also shook hands with President John F. Kennedy when he visited New Ross in 1963.
Michael was well travelled and along with his beloved wife got to visit countries such as France, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Holland, and of course, England, where he and Anne married in Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, in Redditch, on St. Patrick’s Day, 1952.
The couple returned home to Ireland in 1963 where they reared four children. Michael loved spending time with his children and encouraged them and supported them in their various activities and interests.
Fishing was a particular pastime that he both excelled in and also loved doing with his family.
His knowledge of freshwater fishing was astounding and he always knew the best times to fish and the best locations – all over the country.
Michael’s interests were varied and whenever he turned his hand to a particular task or activity he invariably excelled.
From winning auto-test trials in the 1960s to winning prizes, while studying, for a solid wrought-iron gate he manufactured without one spot of weld being used, he never failed to impress in everything he did.
He also manufactured glass-fronted stoves while working in Foulksmills and sold them in the local co-op and he created a crush mould to manufacture home-made fire-briquettes from recycled materials in the 1980s.
His ability to improvise and come up with ingenious solutions to problems led to him being fondly referred to as MacGyver by his workmates in ABS Pumps in Wexford.
He was very proud of his involvement with the mummers in Wexford and performed in a number of prestigious venues including London Town Hall.
Michael was a passionate supporter of Wexford GAA and in addition to being a life-long supporter of the county’s senior hurlers and footballers he was also actively involved in both Adamstown and Bannow-Ballymitty G.A.A. clubs.
He also put his metalwork talents to good use in repairing and banding hurleys for players in both clubs.
He had big interest in motorbikes and his interest in sport saw him regularly attended motorcycle races while living in England.
He had a lifelong and passionate interest in horses stemming from his days working as a farrier. He was a regular race-goer and was highly respected in equestrian circles.
A lifelong supporter of the Fianna Fail party Michael also had a keen interest in politics and never failed to go out on the campaign trail at election time.
He was also a proud and proficient gardener and he always grew his own fruit and vegetables with apples, gooseberries and strawberries being particular favourites.
While his work career afforded him the opportunity to showcase his talents on many different levels it was his passion for his family that marked him out as a man of immense integrity.
In his youth he worked in Parle’s Mill in Duncormick and that was where he first became aware of a place in Count Kerry called Castleisland.
It was a name printed on bags of grain that would come in to be milled.
He said that at the time he wondered where it was; little did he know then that the woman he would spend his entire married life with, his beloved wife, Anne, would come from that beautiful part of the Ireland.
He truly loved his wife and children and from early childhood taught them how to live their lives with respect, honesty and integrity for both themselves and for others.
Whether it was breaks in England or regular trips to every part of Ireland he loved spending holidays with his family.
On February 25, 2010, Michael had an accident when he fell from a ladder. He was 80 years-of-age at the time but was as fit as a 60 year-old.
Unfortunately, he suffered a life-threatening brain injury and it was something from which he never fully recovered. However, he remained living at home, being cared for by his wife, until just before Christmas when he went into convalescent care in Lawson House, Enniscorthy.
However, he always retained his interest in the lives and activities of his children, grand-children and great-grandchildren.
The enormous void that his passing has left in the lives of his loved ones and his relatives and friends will never be filled.
Michael is survived by his wife, Anne, his daughter, Marianne (St. Ledger), sons, Michael, Gerard and Brendan, sisters, Molly, Teresa and Ann, son-in-law, Tom, daughters-in-law, Ann, Geraldine and Dawn, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews, nieces, relatives and very large circle of friends.
