Denis Carroll

‘Let us not look for you only in memory,
Where we would grow lonely without you.
You would want us to find you in presence,
Beside us when beauty brightens,
When kindness glows,
And music echoes eternal tones’
From John O’Donohue’s ‘Benedictus’

As reported in The Mayo News last month, the death has taken place of Denis Carroll, Meermihil, Murrisk, Westport, a highly respected and popular member of the local community.
Born in 1943, Denis passed away following a long illness borne with great courage and strength, on February 9, 2014.
Denis was son of Joseph and Mary (née Surdival, Belcarra) Carroll and his father was a highly respected teacher who was principal of Murrisk National School. Denis would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a teacher himself.
He attended Murrisk NS and then the Christian Brothers School in Westport, now Rice College, before going on to third level. He read English and History at University College Dublin and subsequently obtained his Higher Diploma in Education through Irish at University College Galway, now NUI Galway.
His first post as a secondary school teacher was in Achill, followed by Newport Secondary School before he was made permanent in his alma mater, Westport CBS, in 1968. He spent many happy years there until his retirement in 2006. His chief subject was Mathematics but he also taught Irish amongst other subjects.
He played on the Mayo minor football teams of 1960 and 1961, and Mayo were unfortunate to lose both finals. He was secretary of the West Mayo Board for a number of years and would have been a selector for the Mayo senior team under John O’Mahony in 1987 had it not been for a serious heart attack he suffered that year.
Denis played and managed Westport GAA teams and also represented Westport in athletics and soccer. In later years, he became an accomplished golfer, representing Westport Golf Club successfully in many competitions.
Denis married Sheila Masterson from Ballycroy in 1968 and the couple celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary last August. They raised their family of Joseph, Maria, Denis, Mary and Olivia under the shadow of Croagh Patrick in his family home.
Huge crowds attended his reposal at his home overlooking Clew Bay and at his funeral Mass in St Patrick’s Church, Lecanvey last month. He was laid to rest in Murrisk Abbey Cemetery.
Speaking at his Funeral Mass, Denis’ eldest son Joseph, told the large congregation that his father was described by so many people who came to pay their respects at the family home as ‘a perfect gentleman’.
“He was that, but he was first and foremost a devoted family man,” said Joseph, who went on to humorously describe how Denis and Sheila came to meet.
“They were brought together by the GAA and Foy’s Post Office in Murrisk where my mother had come to work. He was secretary of the West Mayo GAA Board and in the days before texts, emails and even many phones, he had a lot of letters to post.
“He kept returning to the post office time after time, sometimes buying just one stamp at a time and enlisting the help of his future wife to stick them.” It was the start of a long and happy relationship.
Joseph Carroll recalled his father’s grá for his native Murrisk.
“He was not a proud man, indeed he was very humble, but if anything gave him comfort, it was the role he played in preventing gold mining on the Reek. He had a tremendous love of his native place and was absolutely convinced that mining on this Holy Mountain, which was eventually banned for religious reasons, would have a hugely detrimental effect on the environment, on the water we drink, the scenery and tourism that is so vital to this and the greater Westport/Louisburgh area,” said Joseph.
“The other thing that he took pride in, and we were amazed by, was his uncanny ability to remember the names of his former students from decades previous. He was a dedicated teacher and over the years many of his former students have told us of their fondness for him,” said Joseph.
“Dad was surprisingly religious, in his own way. I know that he came to this church in Lecanvey many times to pray after his little grandson, our son Rory, who was diagnosed with leukaemia last year. Maybe it was this faith that fuelled his strength and determination and kept him going. According to the medical profession, he lived far longer than he had any right to. I still remember Dad’s consultant in Dublin before Christmas replying to me when I said that we needed a miracle. He said Dad had already had a miracle in that he shouldn’t have seen Christmas 2012, never mind Christmas 2013.”
Denis’s love for his family was clear and a wonderful letter written by his daughter Maria to The Irish Times for Father’s Day last year was read at his funeral.
“Standing beside me as I embarked on all life’s major milestones – exams, college, travel, interviews, new jobs, marriage and children, your grandchildren. Always encouraging, coaxing, motivating. Your favourite expression, ‘it’s only a pebble in your shoe’ when things got challenging. Things have been challenging for you now these last two years since your diagnosis, a cruelly ironic one after giving up the dreaded cigarettes 25 years ago. Not surprisingly, it is you once again who is teaching us. Teaching us how to look positively on this, how to love life, how to hope and how to believe.” The above is a short excerpt from the letter.
Denis Carroll lost his battle with lung cancer surrounded by his loving family in his home in Meermihil, Murrisk on February 9 last. He is deeply mourned by his loving wife Sheila, children Joseph, Maria, Denis, Mary and Olivia; daughter-in-law Colette; sons-in-law Kevin, Richard and Micheál; grandchildren - Amy, Caitlin, Joey, Rory and Dara; sisters - Sheena, Ann and Carmel;  brothers - Joseph and Francis; brothers-in-law and sister-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews, extended family and friends. He was predeceased by his older brother John in 1983.