Another shocking death of Anto Flynn ,formerly of Blanch

 It is over a decade since I met Anto Flynn.He used live in Brigid's Park in Blanch.He was younger than mise and we went to the same school in Blanch.

H e has been living in Mullingar for over 20 years,where he worked as a taxi driver.

He died in Mullingar Hospital .

He was a hard working bloke always,nothing came handy to him, as was the situation of all the Blanch.people at the time and since indeed.

The people I  believe tell me that the virus is rampant around Blanch., as it seems to be hereabouts.

It is high time that the people in power took out the finger and innoculated everybody to stop this slaughter.

Thinking about Anto since ,my fading memory suggests to me that although he didn't play much adult football with Brigids,he did play a match against Margarets many moons ago and was bullied by one of the ,Margaret's players when the Ref.wasn't looking.

I warned the guy and when he persisted gave him an uppercut .

Like every bully he bellyached to thew ref.The bullying stopped.Anto and he can now compare notes.

They are I  hope in the same plac,above in the presence of the Lord..

Shocking death of Sarah O Mahony.

The recent death of Sarah ,a daughter of the late Oliver Travers and Josie came as a hammer blow ,not only to her husband John,her children Shane,,Olivia, and Ciara ,her grandson Jaxon ,her siblings Alan,Linda,Jane and Rebecca,her distraught mother Josie (NEE Conaty),her cousins ,aunties and uncles ,neighb ours and a huge number of friends.

She died without warning ;no one expected it not even herself I  imagine.And at such a tender age.

It is another terrifying blow to her mother Josie ,in particular ,as well as the other family members ,who has now lost her husband and two of her children,Gary being Sarah's late brother.

There are no upsides to her death , except to pray that ,if you believe in an afterlife ,her  father and brother will be there to welcome her into Heaven.

I  sincerely hope that this is the case.

I have close connections with the wider Travers family.Oliver sold me a Honda 50 over 50 years ago to enable to get around in Dublin.My uncle Tommy paid for it.He was a good friend of Oliver's and Josies and reckoned that he paid for a fiver share in Crannach when the workers ,led by Oliver, took it over.

Later,when I  moved here I  got to know huim and Josie better,meeting them socially in Dunderry,usually in Horans,when we all had a life.Josie was and is a huge friend of her sister Marie O Brien and also Mary Creegan .

Oliwer died before his time,as did Gary and now Sarah.Totally cruel.

Me and mine got on great with Gary ;in fact me son Evan is Godfather to one of Gary's daughters ,Holly. .

Both my elder daughters ,Glenda and Jacinta were fierce tight with Sarah ,and used meet up regularly ,in pre corona rtimes ,with themselves,Dolly Dowd ,Laura and Helen O brien ,Mandy  Conaty and a few others to natter,ate sausages and support the burdens that are endemic in modern life.

In the area of sharing the burdens there was none better than Sarah ,whose hearty laugh,direct responses  and endless patience was a great support to all her close friends, especially to those in despair.

I did not know her all that well but well enough to appreciate her directness ,her sense of humour and infinite kindness.

A  number of years after my stroke a number of former Camogie players and others approached me and asked if I  would take them on to get them as fit as I  could,not too toughly.This I  did .

The group ,consisting of Sarah,her neighbour Bernadette Mc Gourty,our Glenda,Breda Keenan,Noeleen O  Neill,Pauline Maguire,Helen Smith,( the last four all Goughs from Meadstown),AmmO Neville,Trish Smith,Caroline Duffy ,Maura Walshe,Aoife Stephens,Bernie Coffey and Eileen Bruton trained assiduously for over a year  two nights a week,usually in the GAA Pitch but also in Dunderry Hall and in the Village ,wherever we could geta space.

    Life being what it was we rarely had a full turnout,but it seemed to me that a bond was formed betwen these ladies.

Certainly they all achieved their objectives of being able to put under their belts 8 laps of the GAA Pitch.

My memory is that around this time of the year there was brutal weather and we gave it up.

I  distinctly remember Sarah telling me that she would be continuing walking with Josie,a feat I  witnessed with my own eyes.

I  have ,of course .bumped into Sarah from time to time since.She still had that devilish sense of humour,the quick reparttee and unputdownable candour for which she was notable.

Ar Dheis De go raibh a hAnam Dilis.

I  don't know the Funeral Arrangements.