Obituaries 27-11-2010

The death occurred last week, after a long illness, of Mr Jim Byrne, Navan, who for half a century was involved in the musical life of county Meath and further afield. Mr Byrne, of Byrne's Hairdressing on Watergate Street, was involved in marching bands, show bands, musical societies and variety groups, wedding bands and teaching music, as well as writing songs with his wife, Margaret. He passed away peacefully on Monday 15th November, aged 66. The Byrne family was, and is, a musical one. Mr Byrne's grandfather, Robert, who came to Navan in 1898 with his hairdressing business, had a collection of 27 concertinas. These were smashed up and thrown out the window of their premises by the Black and Tans. Bob's daughter, Lily Doran, ran Navan's first music academy, with Mattie McGoona senior, on Academy Street. Jim Byrne first became actively involved in music when he joined St Mary's Brass Band, now the Navan Sliver Band, in 1949, at the age of six, playing trombone. He was to remain with this band, which evolved to St Mary's Silver Band and the Navan Silver Band, until the 1960s, when it won a number of All-Ireland titles and marched on such occasions as St Patrick's Day, big GAA games in venues including Croke Park, and church events. Four of his grandchildren are members of the band today. He also played piano organ and around 1958 joined his first showband, The Topic showband, with Mattie McGoona, Christy and Joe Smith, Jimmy Newman, Mick Alexander and Aidan Byrne. In the era of show bands and dance halls, the next group he was involved with was The Abbey Showband, which included Colm Wall and Peter Flanagan. They toured England, Germany and all over Ireland, including in Northern Ireland where the B Specials on the border ordered them out, and on one occasion they had to quickly switch from 'Amhran na bhFiann' to 'God Save the Queen' when they played the wrong national anthem. Also, on one particular night in a Meath town, Mr Byrne's keyboard was the target of a dagger flung from the crowd, which pierced the front of the instrument. From 1974, with the phasing out of the show bands and ballrooms, Mr Byrne was a member of The Minors, moving into the lounge, wedding and function-style music, with Paddy Meehan, Joe Smith, David Byrne, and Peter Flanagan, followed by John Collier and New Dimension, with lead female singers over the years such as Rosemary Gilsenan (Hussey), Carmel O'Connor (Rennicks), and Mary Duff. Mr Byrne's next outfit was Scrooge, with Joe Beggy, Neil Cassidy, Jimmy Dunne, Jimmy Fanning, Sean Black and Hank Newman, and most recently, Replay, whose members included Messrs Dunne, Newman and Cassidy, John Deegan, Dave McGoona and Tommy Meehan over the years, as well as Mr Byrne's son, Brian. For more elaborate performances, Replay was joined by a full brass section to become Starblitz. The first time Mr Byrne played with an orchestra was in the 1950s with Kells Musical Society, for their production of 'Babes in the Wood'. In 1964, when Fr Michael Murchan set up the Rathkenny Revels, he brought Jim Byrne on board as musical director, and those early years included many memorable pageants, including a piece on the blowing up of Nelson's Pillar in 1966, in a sketch on the 60th anniversary of 1916, with full blown explosions on stage. In 1967, Mr Byrne and the late Oliver Rowe established St Mary's Musical Society in Navan, and their first production, in spring of 1968, was 'Trial by Jury and Revue', which they brought to the stage in Dublin. For about six years from 1971, he returned to work with the Rathkenny Revels, while he also became involved with the late Raphael Walsh, in setting up competitions between all the major factories in the town. He was involved in the 'Tops of the Towns' shows, and the 'John Player Tops', with many towns around the country seeking out his expertise when putting together a performance for the competition which climaxed on the stage of the Gaiety Theatre. Mr Byrne was involved in the production of many charity shows in the town, for causes such as the community centre on Trimgate Street, and introduced professional arrangers from Dublin to the local scene, like Bobby Murphy of the Radio Eireann Light Orchestra, as well as 15 piece bands. Other organisations to benefit from his expertise and fundraising included the Lions Club and the Diocesan Choir, among many other choirs. The Boyneside Musical Society grew from community shows organised by Mr Byrne in 1981, and staged a number of variety shows. These shows involved groups from areas such as Silverlawns, Beechmount, Troytown and Blackcastle vying for honours. Out of the Rathkenny Revels orchestra grew the Navan Dance Orchestra, a 14-18 piece ensemble which played at formal occasions such as chamber of commerce, vintners' and hunt balls. In 1974, Mr Byrne and his wife, Margaret, formerly Margaret Halligan from Rathkenny, whom he had met through the 'Revels', wrote a song which was performed in the National Song Contest, and they also wrote songs for David Parkes and Ronan Tynan. They organised the David Parkes Concert which saw 1,600 seated in St Mary's Church, Navan, for the church fundraiser. Mr Byrne had a huge interest in encouraging and nurturing local singers and musicians whom he felt had talent. The standards of contestants in talent shows in the town was always very high, as he spent considerable time working with them to ensure that they achieved their best possible performance. Singers who came up through these shows included Mary Duff, Matt Leavy, and a young Ronan Keating, and spare moments in the barber shop would be spent going through a piece with a singer or musician at the piano upstairs. Mr Byrne also taught music at the Sound Shop, Drogheda, for a time. He also drove young people from the town on a weekly basis to the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, including his own family, and others who went on to excel in the music scene. All of his own family play instruments, and have made their mark, including Brian, a composer and arranger based in Los Angeles; Paul, who is musical director with the Navan Silver Band and involved with various musical societies; Colm, co-principal trumpeter with the National Symphony Orchestra, and John who is Patrick Feeney's band and also tours with the band Three Amigos and works in arranging. Mr Byrne, a native of Watergate Street, lived at Boyerstown, Navan. He attended the De La Salle primary school and Navan Technical School, and studied hairdressing at Bolton Street in Dublin. He had played with the De La Salle juvenile team and Navan O'Mahonys, and was also a member of the Navan cycling and athletic clubs in his youth. As well as music, another great passion was gardening, much of which he learned from his late father-in-law, Peter Halligan, who was farm manager at Tankardstown House. At the time of his passing, Mr Byrne was involved in the production of a CD in aid of the oncology unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, with the participation of artists from all over the country. His family intends to complete this work and organise a concert for the hospital unit. He was the fifth generation of his family in the hairdressing business. Byrnes had worked in Dublin and Dundalk, and his grandfather, Robert, who opened up on Market Square in 1898, had three sons who all went into the business, Bobby, Willie, and Peter. Bobby was well known for his amateur dramatic performances in the town, and stayed in business at Market Square with Peter, while Willie, Jim Byrne's father, moved to Watergate Street after his marriage to Madeline Butler in 1927. Jim Byrne, his father, and brother Robbie worked together for a few years before Robbie went into the ladies side altogether, though in the same premises. When Mr Byrne's father died in 1984, Jim carried on the business. Robbie's business had become too big for the area upstairs and in 1969 he moved, later setting up in Cornmarket. Jim Byrne is survived by his wife, Margaret, sons Paul, Colm, Brian, John, Jim and Kevin, daughter Carol, brother Robbie, sisters Rita Potter and May Sheerin, son-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends. The funeral took place from St Mary's Church, Navan, to St Mary's Cemetery on Thursday last. _____________________________________________________________ Finian Gargan, Moynalty The regretted death has occurred of Mr Finian Gargan, Tullyarren, Moynalty. Aged 83 years, Mr Gargan passed away at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, on 17th October last. Deceased left Moynalty in the early 1950s and travelled to England where he met and married Phyllis O'Rourke, a native of Castletown. He worked with the Lucas Motor Company in England for many years and later managed a successful licensed premises in Birmingham with Phyllis. The family returned to Moynalty in the early 1970s and Mr Gargan worked for Meath County Council until his retirement. Predeceased by his wife, Phyllis, in 1993, he is survived by sons, Noel and Martin, Moynalty, and Jamie, Kingscourt; daughter, Sonia, Moynalty; daughters-in-law; son-in-law; 16 grandchildren; relatives and friends. The funeral took place from St Anne's Church, Newcastle, to Moynalty Cemetery. A months memory Mass will take place on Friday 26th November at 8pm in Newcastle Church. _____________________________________________________________ Paddy McGuinness, Clonalvy The regretted death has occurred of Mr Paddy McGuinness, Tankardstown, Clonalvy, on 27th October last, at his residence. A native of Ardcath, Mr McGuinness was a farmer who also ran the local shop with his wife, Agnes. For many years, he sold at markets in Dublin, leaving at the crack of dawn. Deceased was heavily involved in sports and attended matches all over the country. He was also involved in the local club, and a fitting memorial to him will be the new club grounds due to be opened soon on lands which he sold to the club. Deceased had been looking forward to attending the first game there before Christmas. Mr McGuinness was also involved in the Red Cross and the establishment of the Ashbourne branch. He attended many field days and cross country runs over the years as an ambulance driver. Deceased gave generously as a blood donor, and was awarded the gold pin from the Pioneer Association for fifty years membership. Mr McGuinness is survived by his wife, Agnes; daughters, Jean, Annie, Margo and Machelle; sons, Gerard and Pat; sister, Rita; 15 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren; in-laws; relatives and friends. The funeral took place from the Church of St John the Baptist to the adjoining cemetery. _____________________________________________________________ Aidan O'Brien, Garlow Cross The regretted death occurred after a short illness on 3rd November last of Mr Aidan O'Brien, Decoy, Garlow Cross, Navan, a member of a prominent Johnstown family, who was involved in the clothes retail business in Navan. Mr O'Brien passed away at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght. Deceased was proprietor of The Better Value store on Kennedy Road and, previously, Buy Right Stores, which was also located on Kennedy Road. Mr O'Brien spent all his working life in the retail clothes business. He started his career with Joe Woods on Trimgate Street and spent time with Paddy Mullen and Taylors of Swords before joining Dunnes Stores. The O'Brien family is long associated with Walterstown GFC and Mr O'Brien was a member of the panel that won the club's first adult championship, the Meath JFC, in 1961. He was also very proud of his achievements with the now defunct De La Salle underage club in Navan. He won three under-14 HC, three under-16 HC and one MHC medals with 'The Salle's' as well as two MFC medals. Mr O'Brien played minor football with Meath in 1963 before a knee injury curtailed his football career. However, he added a second JFC medal to his collection in 1978. He was an avid follower of Meath football and his brothers Michael and Eamonn are both past managers of the county senior football team. Deceased was also a keen golfer and was a former member of Royal Tara Golf Club. He organised numerous golfing trips to the Algarve in latter years. Soccer was another of his interests and he was in Malaysia, with his daughter Ruth, in 1997 to witness the Republic of Ireland team finish third in the World Under 20 championships. Mr O'Brien was predeceased by his son, Ronan, and is survived by his wife Kay; daughter Ruth; brothers, Sean, Michael, Dermot, Oliver and Eamonn; sisters, Margaret and Betty; and extended family. The funeral took place from the Church of the Nativity, Johnstown to St Mary's Cemetery. _____________________________________________________________ Margaret Tierney, Navan Trimgate Street in Navan lost one of its long standing business people with the death on 3rd November last of Mrs Margaret (Madge ) Tierney, of Tierney's Newsagents. Aged 91, she passed away at Woodlands Nursing Home, Trim Road, Navan. Mrs Tierney was well rehearsed in retail business when she married Michael Tierney in 1942. A member of the McKenna family that had a pub and grocery store on Ludlow Street, she became actively involved in Tierney's Newsagency and Tobacconist Store, the oldest family newsagents in Ireland dating back to 1895, and remained involved in the business until the late 1980s. She spent the last four years in Woodlands Nursing Home, where the staff provided her with the utmost care, and to whom the family is very grateful. Mrs Tierney was predeceased by her husband, Mick, in 1981, and son, Michael, in 1999. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Tierney, Anne Mulvany and Susan O'Reilly; sons, Paul and Joe; daughters-and sons-in-law; grandchildren; great grandchildren; relatives and friends. The funeral took place from St Mary's Church, to St Mary's Cemetery, Navan.