MINUTES after being stung by a wasp, a Myshall man dropped dead in his garden on Sunday afternoon.
The community of Myshall has been left stunned by the tragic death of former hurling great John Butler, and the unimaginable circumstances surrounding his death.
The four-time u21 hurling championship winner died after being stung by a wasp, while weeding in his garden with his wife Imelda.
John’s allergy to wasp stings was well-known as it had happened several years ago but despite having anti-histamines in the house, there was simply no time to administer the drugs and the sting took horrific affect within minutes.
The 55-year-old Myshall native had recently moved to Johnstown and was the loving father of two daughters, Michelle and Maria. He was also a hugely successful business man, who opened his own strategic management consultancy company in 1989 called Century Management.
The close-knit family had recently enjoyed the occasion of Maria’s wedding in Kildare and both Maria and her husband had only recently returned home to America after the celebrations. John’s sister-in-law Theresa Butler from Shangarry, said that the loss of the popular Myshall native is a tragedy.
“It’s a tragic loss. It was so sudden and so unexpected,” she added.
The Naomh Eoin club man has published many books over the years including his first in September 1999 called Successful Entrepreneurial Management.
John, who was educated in Myshall NS, Knockbeg College and UCD, always held the Myshall club and community close to his heart and was always very complimentary about his home area.
He had remarked in the past that, “there’s so much camaraderie and energy and enthusiasm and all sorts of things in a little place like Myshall that when you go into the bigger commercial world and go abroad, and so on, you find it has been a little microcosm of all that’s best in business.”
In his playing days he also wore the county colours with pride during the 1976/77 national league campaign.
John is survived by his wife Imelda, daughters Michelle and Maria, brothers Ted and Andy and sisters Helen and Mary Butler (Chicago) and Ann Deegan (Shillelagh).