Calls to realise O’Hara’s dreams Thousands turn out to bid farewell to Foxford businessman
Anna-Marie Flynn AS Foxford’s best-known figure, JJ O’Hara, was laid to rest on Sunday last, an emotional call was made to make his dreams of a Language and Business Centre a reality.
Chief celebrant of his funeral Mass, Fr Joe Gavigan, addressed the thousands of mourners who packed into St Michael’s Church and grounds to sympathise with the family of JJ O’Hara, urging that the work started by the businessman and Admiral Brown campaigner be completed. Fr Gavigan described the sudden death of the 51-year-old, while visiting his daughter in Dubai last Wednesday, as ‘too soon’ but said the bringing to fruition of his extensive plans for Foxford would serve as a ‘wonderful tribute to his efforts’.
“JJ’s tireless work for the cause of the Admiral Brown Society [ABS] must be acknowledged. I am now calling on the powers-that-be to look after the concerns of the students of Argentina who want to learn English and to consider it as a tremendous tribute to JJ’s tireless work. It would be a wonderful tribute to him if this dream was to become a reality,” he said.
The curate was referring to the campaign for a proposed Brown Memorial Language and Business Centre, headed up by the late President of the ABS, to facilitate an exchange programme between Brown’s native Foxford and Argentina.
Oliver Murphy, of the ABS, said the organisation has every intention of embarking on the development of the school as ‘JJ’s legacy deserves no less’.
At the weekend, nine naval cadets; Anna Pisnao de Ashton, acting Argentine ambassador; and a host of dignitaries, were among the record number of mourners who queued for hours to express sympathy. The deceased was laid to rest at Craggagh Cemetery following 1pm Mass.
JJ O’Hara is survived by his wife, Bernie, children Louise, Lisa, John and Mark, mother Bea and brothers and sisters.
Record numbers hear tributes to a ‘simple shopkeeper’ FUNERAL Anna-Marie Flynn THE mourners queued as far back as Reape’s garage and right down Providence Road on Saturday evening, and by 12.15pm on Sunday, every last seat in St Michael’s Church, Foxford was occupied.
A full 45 minutes before the funeral Mass of the late JJ O’Hara was due to commence, members of the congregation sat silently recalling their own personal memories of the quintessential Foxford man. Gentlemen offered seats to women standing in aisles; strangers sitting side by side exchanged stories of interactions with the self-described ‘simple shopkeeper’, and throughout the church a feeling of warmth, reminiscent of JJ O’Hara’s own charismatic personality, descended.
In a moving two-hour ceremony, sadness was laced with humour, marking a 51-year life cut short, but lived to the full, by the late businessman.
Fr Joe Gavigan told the unprecedented number of mourners that he remembered JJ as akin to a Father Christmas-type figure for the children of Argentina, with whom he had built up an irreplaceable rapport. “JJ would carry the children on his shoulders and the love and appreciation they got from him rendered him similar to Santa Claus in their eyes,” he said.
Following the liturgy, Gus O’Hara, brother of the deceased, addressed the crowd in an emotionally-charged eulogy. “JJ was my best friend,” he said. He described his life-long passion for fishing on his beloved River Moy; his infectious sense of humour which developed in childhood and several touching memories imparted to him by JJ’s wife, Bernie and their four children.
Friend of the O’Hara family, Peter Hynes, echoed the glowing tribute. “The letter sequence N-O did not feature in his universe. My life was better, richer, more complex, more challenging, more fun and more fulfilling for having known JJ,” he said.
JJ O’Hara will be remembered in Foxford for his outstanding contribution to the Admiral Brown Society; the revival of the Goat Fair; the F RHiggins Week; fire and water spectacle; Riverdance on the Moy; Woollen Mills Visitor Centre; the Libertad visit; formation of the newsagents body, IRNA, and particularly, for being a local shop-keeper with a warm handshake and a smile on his face.
THE ENTERTAINER JJ O’Hara getting his face painted by Jorgelina Ortulan in Maloney’s Pub, Foxford, ahead of the World Cup group match between Argentina and Holland, last year.
Pic: Keith Heneghan/Phocus How childhood wonder and determination led to global success
ADMIRAL BROWN SOCIETY Anna-Marie Flynn JJ O’Hara was nine years old when the uniforms of the Argentine Navy were seen in Foxford. It was a day that he had been looking forward to for months on end, but the excitement of a wide-eyed child was met with heartbreak when the sailors arrived, laid a wreath and left Mayo behind them less than 20 minutes later.
The day came and went all too soon but, for JJ, the heroic legacy of Admiral William Brown was to remain. Fast forward the clock to 1992, when the then-Argentine ambassador to Ireland, Juan Manuel Figueroa, made a fateful phone-call to the parish house to inform the town that the crew of the ARA Libertad was planning a visit to honour the father of the Argentine army, Admiral Brown.
JJ heard the news, travelled to Dublin to meet the ambassador and persuaded the authorities to extend the visit of the Navy founded by Brown. Although they did not wait overnight as he had requested, the disorderly parking arrangements whereby two cars blocked the delegation’s bus, meant that the men were forced to stay in Mayo until 11pm. A four-hour meeting turned into an entire day’s celebration including a challenge soccer match, sports day, barbecue, traditional Irish session and welcome ceremony, with attendees retiring for drinks and a disco in the evening.
JJ O’Hara, having told that same story many, many times, often described the impromptu event as ‘really the day the Admiral Brown Society (ABS) was founded’. On numerous occasions, he paid tribute to the people who participated, and recently recalled: “That night, those sailors left us as friends. I love this town, this county and its people, and it was a proud day for all of us.”
The day-long milestone led to association and action, when JJ set about sourcing information about the Foxford-born hero. After establishing the ABS, subsequent associations were founded in Dublin and Galway. To date, much of the ABS’s 21-point-plan has been put into action, including eleven visits to Argentina; monument refurbishment; three books about Brown in English; a TV documentary; a film; distribution of books to schools; overhaul of Foxford Weirs; Admiral Brown road opened in Foxford; monuments in Dublin and Philadelphia; centre for visiting Argentines; three Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann branches in Argentina; Argentine Convention in Mayo, school improvement scheme and plans for a business and language school.
JJ O’Hara’s motto was to keep ‘plugging away’, regardless of progress made. Even his recent honour of a County Council civic reception, to mark his outstanding contribution to the legacy of Brown, was not enough to prompt him to rest on his laurels for even a moment. Indeed, he was still working on Tuesday last when he sent a text message to Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Joe Mellett, to follow up on the next phase of the community project.
So, long before there was talk of an Admiral William Brown feature film; before trips to Buenos Aires and ahead of civic honours; one man was working behind the scenes to make his dreams a reality.
As President of the Admiral Brown Society, JJ O’Hara was a man on a mission, embarking on a venture that all started after one fateful telephone call to the parish office in Foxford.
Foxford is missing ‘an extraordinary character’ LOCAL REACTION Anna-Marie Flynn WHILE county and country may have mourned his passing, no place will feel JJ O’Hara’s absence more than his hometown of Foxford.
Yesterday (Monday), the sense of sadness remained palpable as a community struggled to come to terms with sudden loss. At Hope House, Sr Dolores Duggan said it was almost too difficult to sum up JJ in a few sentences, but one thing that stood out above all else was ‘generosity’. “He was so so generous of time, and of support, for all of us here at Hope House. He enriched our lives with his optimism and energy and I think, above all, he was proud of his town and of projects like Hope House, simply because it was in his hometown.”
Equally struggling to take in the news, Sr Attracta Canny said the whole town of Foxford has felt a ‘deep sense of shock’. “Foxford will be much the poorer without his presence. There is a huge sense of loss because we are coping with the fact that we have lost an extraordinary character. There were no hidden agendas; he just fitted in more in 51 years than many could in 200. We are thinking and praying for his family at this difficult time,” she said.
Jean Beattie, now settled in Foxford for 30 years, said she still cannot believe the events of the last week. “I can’t quite accept it,” she said. “Since 2004, I have been involved with the Admiral Brown Society and have worked quite closely with him, planning and scheming. We had become very good friends.
“JJ was exceptionally nice to children and young people. There was nothing contrived about it, he was just very comfortable with children and they related to him so well. I recall him telling me a story about a school outside Buenos Aires and his eyes filling with tears; that’s how touched he was by children,” she said.
Around the corner in St Joseph’s Secondary School, school principal Brendan Forde, who was attempting to prepare for the start of the academic year, was distracted by the shock and sadness of losing a great patron of the school. “I have spoken to a few people today and everyone is struck by the same feeling: shock. At St Joseph’s we are extremely sad at the passing of our great friend. We collaborated regularly with JJ as part of the Admiral Brown project. His children passed through the doors, and he was always a huge benefactor of the school. Foxford community and district will miss him severely.”
Memories of a ‘larger than life’ community man TRIBUTES Anna-Marie Flynn ON June 20 last, the late JJ O’Hara stood in the Connaught Room in Pontoon Bridge Hotel against the backdrop of his own slideshow of images from Mayo, as glowing tributes were paid to mark his contribution to the legacy of Admiral William Brown.
But not for a moment, throughout the modest acceptance of such accolades by the Foxford man, did the capacity crowd ever envisage an outpouring of words of respect being paid to JJ once again less than two months later – this time to mark his premature passing.
Last week, as news spread of the untimely death of the well-known businessman, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Joe Mellett, led the memorials. Speaking to The Mayo News he said was ‘still in shock’. “Nice guys like JJ don’t deserve to die suddenly, and he really was a fantastic person, a person who persevered for the good of a cause and for others.”
Mayo’s first citizen said the businessman’s role within the community was central to its development. “For me, JJ was the epitome of the small business man, in the small town in the west of Ireland, trying not only to do is best for his own business but working on behalf of the whole town.”
Travelling from Dublin Airport where he met the funeral cortege, Director of Services with Mayo County Council, Peter Hynes, a friend and fellow Foxford resident, described JJ as ‘larger than life’. “It is a term often used to flatter people but in JJ’s case he truly was big in mind and heart, in imagination and focus. Both in social settings, and in his work life, JJ displayed generosity that the Irish have become famous for,” he said.
Mr Hynes said two things about JJ really stood out for him in his determination and personality. “For JJ, the gap between forming an idea, whether it was his own or someone else’s, and putting it into action was phenomenal. Similarly, he had this capacity to make an impression on people instantly and to put them at ease and that is a quality that is seldom found to such an extent in people.”
At home in Foxford, Admiral Brown Society PRO, Oliver Murphy, said simply: “The world will be a lonely place without him.”
“He was a tireless activist, who strongly promoted the concept of ‘Pride of Place’ and was involved in every facet of community life. He possessed a wonderful warm, charismatic personality, and a great sense of humour, which included an intense passion in relation to his beloved mission: to elevate the memory of another great Foxford man, Admiral William Brown.”
In the wake of his death, tributes poured in from all sides of the political divide. Deputy Dara Calleary said JJ’s energy will be ‘sorely missed’ as will his dissemination of the ‘Admiral Brown Gospel – a task he carried out with pride and devotion’.
Mayor of Ballina, Cllr Michelle Mulherin, said JJ will be remembered for ‘bringing people and ideas together’. “Like a shooting star, he never failed to make an impression,” she said, while her party colleague, Deputy John O’Mahony, noted he was ‘truly a man of the people, for the people’.
AS Foxford’s best-known figure, JJ O’Hara, was laid to rest on Sunday last, an emotional call was made to make his dreams of a Language and Business Centre a reality. Chief celebrant at the emotional funeral, Fr Joe Gavigan, urged that the work started by the businessman and Admiral Brown campaigner be completed.
