The Fairgreen, Westport
Paddy Joe – as he was popularly known – was a retired publican and had reached the venerable age of 92 years.
As a young man, Paddy Joe worked as manager in the furniture department of Mulloys’ Corner Shop, now the premises of O’Connor Supervalu. During his time there he developed a keen eye for fine furniture and paintings. A man of refined tastes, he always had an interest in the arts and various aspects of Irish culture. In 1947 he became the proprietor of Toby’s Bar on The Fairgreen, Westport, taking over from his father, John Toby Gibbons. He took great pride in the running of Toby’s and, invariably, many of his customers became personal friends. How he would have loved to be around in September of this year when Toby’s Bar will celebrate the centenary of its foundation.
Paddy Joe was a man with a generous heart and had a keen sense of voluntary service to his local community. He was a founder member of the Westport Ambulance Corps of the Order of Malta and gave unstinting voluntary service to the Order for many years. Indeed, only last year he was the recipient of a special plaque at the Order’s jubilee celebrations in recognition of the service given by him. Members of the Order attended his funeral in full uniform in tribute to him and the plaque which he cherished was among the gifts brought to the altar at his Funeral Mass.
Paddy Joe had a great interest in gardening and the cultivation of flowers was one of his favourite pastimes. Music was also one of his great loves and he was a regular patron of the musical shows and operettas of Ballinrobe Musical Society. He was a familiar figure at the society’s shows, almost always accompanied by his good friends, Teresa and the late Joe Berry and the Keane sisters from Carrabawn, now sadly deceased.
In his youth Paddy Joe loved to travel abroad and delighted customers, family and friends with colourful accounts of his foreign tours. As he moved towards the autumn of his life, he was very happy to enjoy the company of his close family and friends, especially Jackie Dunne who visited him regularly and was a daily visitor at Mayo General Hospital during Paddy Joe’s final days there. His passing leaves a huge void in their lives, but they will be forever grateful for his love and positive influence down through the years.
Before being hospitalised for what was to prove his final illness, Paddy Joe spent his final years in the Pilgrim’s Rest Nursing Home, Barley Hill, Westport, where he made many friends among staff and residents.
He will be sadly missed by his nephews Toby Gibbons (Westport), Ger Clarke (Westport) and Brendan Clarke (Dublin), nieces Bernie Byrne (Westport) and Mercedes O’Neill (Limerick), grandnephews, grandnieces, neighbours, staff and residents of the Pilgrim’s Rest Nursing Home and many loyal friends.
He was predeceased by his brothers Broddie and Mickey and his sisters Sadie Jackson, Maudie Clarke and Bebe Gibbons.
A representative cortege accompanied his removal from the Fairgreen residence of his niece, Bernie Byrne, to St Mary’s Church, Westport, where Fr Denis Carney, Adm., officiated at the reception ceremony.
The concelebrants of Paddy Joe’s Funeral Mass were Fr Denis Carney and Fr Micheál MacGréil. The lessons were read by his niece, Bernie Byrne and his grandniece Alma Byrne, while his grandnieces and grandnephews read the prayers of the faithful and brought the offertory gifts to the altar. The funeral liturgy was complemented by the beautiful singing of St Mary’s Church Choir, under the direction of Paddy Joe’s friend and neighbour, Gabriel Kelly.
In his homily Fr Carney said that when a person died the question was often asked if they were married, the implication being that if they were single their passing was ‘not too bad’. He said this failed to appreciate the contribution that single people can make to families and communities.
“Many single aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters are very much at the heart of family circles and Paddy Joe was certainly one such person. All throughout his life he was pivotal to the heart of the Gibbons family. He was very good to them and it was a goodness that was generously reciprocated.”
Fr Carney said Paddy Joe was an integral part of the history of the Fairgreen and was looked up to by family and the wider community. As a publican he was known far and wide for the warmth of his welcome and the fairness of his dealings.
“He was a man of goodness and kindness and, as a daily Mass-goer while his health permitted, he never separated his faith from his daily living. To the Gibbons family he was their beloved ‘Uncle’; to so many others he was a good Christian and a dear friend.”
In a post-Communion reflection Paddy Joe’s nephew, Toby Gibbons, paid a touching tribute to ‘Uncle’ for always being there for them and for his unselfish love and devotion to them down through the years.
Paddy Joe was laid to rest in the family grave in Aughavale Cemetery. May his gentle and caring soul have peaceful rest.
* His Month’s Mind Mass will be in St Mary’s Church, Westport, on Saturday, June 2 at 7.30pm.
