Around Dunderry we have known for some time that Vincent was under severe pressure health wise..He had lung cancer as far as I know and had a lung or part of it removed some time ago.In his eighties the wise decision was made not to have further surgery nor too intrusive treatment.
As was his wont the first Dunderrian Dub,his wife Vera being the second,Maureen Yourell being third and mise a poor fourth,Vincent motored on in good humour despite his failing health and never became downbeat after his prognosis .
I have never seen him flustered and he continued in this vein right up to the end of his well lived life.
He was the real thing as far as Dubs go, being either from the Liberties or Ormond Square as far as I know --himself and his wife Vera had both historic areas covered --and was a part of what was Dublin in the rare old times and never lost his Dublin accent nor his love for the city,
Don't know how he came to live in Dunderry but he and his family took to it like a duck to water and I never heard of him expressing any interest to live elsewhere.
Last week our AOIFE ,who is involved with a group of musicians who play from time to time in hospitals and nursing homes, happened to be in Navan Hospital and at the request of his family played solo renditions of Raglan Road and Amazing Grace for him as he lay waiting the Call from the Man above.I understand that things got very emotional and we knew that his time was short.
And so it came to pass.
Vincent and Vera ,as far a I know met through the Legion of Mary and 11 children were born to them of which 10 survive to this day.I don't know them all but do know most of them and they are bang on to a man and a woman.
He was a master welder and could turn his gifted hands to any task.Just as well as raising the spondulocks to feed ,clothe and support such a large brood cannot have been an easy task but raise them he did and he did it well.
Of course he wasn't alone in this and God only knows how Vera managed to stretch his wages to meet every bodies needs.
Now while Vincent and Vera became especially devout in latter years ,hosting Prayer Groups and being especially devoted to Mary ,they were by no means crawthumpers entirely and when money and circumstance allowed ,which admittedly wasn't often ,knew how to let rip on a minor scale and as the brood took flight had a jar or two.But always very demurely.
Vincent wasn't a GAA man.The constraints of space in central Dublin make it more suitable for soccer and this was his sport of choice.He was instrumental in forming the now defunct soccer team in Dunderry and the soccer jersey was presented as a gift during the Funeral Mass in a packed Church last Thursday.
This didn't stop his sons Vincent Junior,aka China and Damien a.k.a.Swiss ,excelling at hurling and football and Olivia also swung a caman with menace in her youth.
His two grand daughter Danielle and Kate are fine Camogie players too as I well know ,having trained them in the dark arts as is a grandson Garry who also played hurling with Dunderry.
Swiss is still a fine footballer and was good enough to represent his County ,an achievement of which his father was extremely proud as he quietly confirmed to me many times.And why wouldn't he be.
Don't have first hand knowledge of the sporting prowess of his older children as they were past their sporting primes when I moved to Dunderry to live but no doubt they were cut from the same cloth.
I have lived in Dundeerry since 1986 and in all that time have never heard a wrong word said against Vincent Clark and have personally found him and Vera and their entire flock to have been above reproach and the essence of decency.
I was glad to see that a minutes silence was observed this evening before the League match against Ballinagree in his honour in the Pitch.
We sympathize with his wife,siblings .children ,grand children , great grand children and all his relative and friends in their great sorrow.
Ar Dheis De go raibh a Anam Dilis,
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