A HUGE crowd gathered at Bride Street Church to bid farewell to one of Wexford’s best-known and much loved characters, Colman Doyle, who sadly passed away on Monday, August 3.
Colman, who was one of the town’s most prominent businessmen for almost 50 years, was laid to rest at Barntown Cemetery, where his parents are buried, following his requiem mass on Wednesday.
At his funeral mass, Fr. Paddy Cushen remarked that Colman had lived in the shadow of the spire of Bride Street, and had been baptised and confirmed there. He added that he had been happy to share a strong friendship with Colman over the past 44 years.
Colman, he said, was one of the great characters of Wexford town – a kind, loyal and generous man who had “built up the family business over the years and contributed greatly to South Main Street.”
He loved sailing, antiques and old cars. While he said he did not have a passport, television or decent car and got his daily news from BBC Radio, he denied any suggestions that he was a caveman.
Speaking later in the Mass, Victor Bridges, a friend of Colman’s said he had struggled to find words to sum up his friend: “If I met a thousand people in a room, they’d have a thousand different stories about Colman.”
He joked that Colman was never wrong and recounted a humorous tale in which his friend ran aground in a boat: “We all knew he had run aground but when we went out to him he was insistent that he had decided to stop there to get a cup of tea!”
He added that while Frank Sinnott would jest at Colman over his jumper, Mr. Bridges remarked that he had been wrong as Colman had seven of the same jumper – one for every day of the week.
He described his friend as a “fantastic Wexfordian” and one who would never be forgotten.
[Full story in this week’s Echo]