Odran Seeley from Carlow town was a man with a deep love of Irish and the GAA

THE death on Monday 20 April of Odran Seeley, Tullow Road, Carlow at the town’s Hillview Nursing Home marks the passing of a man with a deep love of the Irish language and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

But it was the pride in his native Carlow, its people and history that stood out most profoundly in the long life of Odran Seeley.

Odran celebrated his 98th birthday in Hillview on 7 April when there was a party attended by family members and friends, including his American grandchildren Oisín (9) and Aoife (6), who both sang Irish songs, including Follow Me Up to Carlow and The Fields of Athenry. There was a birthday cake, and Odran was in fine form.

His health then declined sharply in the days before his passing.

A native of Closh, Carlow, Odran was son of Tom and Peg (née Whelan). Tom Seeley ran a barber’s shop at 50 Tullow Street, carrying on the business with the distinctive red and white striped pole that had been established by his father Paddy Seeley on College Street.

Paddy started out running a barber’s shop on Thomas Street, Dublin. He came to Carlow and ran the College Street barber shop from the summer of 1897. He died in Carlow in 1899.

Tom Seeley subsequently moved the barber shop around the corner to 50 Tullow Street, with the College Street concern taken over by Alec Burns, who, like Odran, was a man with a deep knowledge of the history of Carlow town and county. Alec Burns was a half-brother of Tom Seeley.

The life and times of Odran Seeley was fully catalogued in a celebration of his life in a wonderful eulogy by his son Fintan, proprietor of bar and restaurants in Montvale, New Jersey and New York, during his dad’s funeral Mass in the Cathedral of the Assumption on Saturday 25 April.

Fintan told the congregation that Odran was reared in Tullow Street, alongside his younger sister Fiona, who predeceased him.

Noting that while his dad was very much a Carlow town man, a great part of his heart always belonged to the land. He spent much of his later childhood and teenage years on the family farm at Grange Cottage ‒ where Hegarty’s supermarket stands today on Staplestown Road – alongside his granny Whelan and his uncles.

Fintan continued: “That love of farming stayed with him throughout his life. For as long as his uncles Jimmy and Tommy ran the farm, Dad continued to help whenever he could. It was part of what he was: steady, practical, hardworking and deeply contracted to the place he came from.” Having obtained his leaving certificate in 1947 from the CBS on College Street, Odran went in search of work, applying for a number of jobs in the public service. He first obtained employment in an office capacity at Carlow Sugar Factory from September 1946 to April 1947 and later from October ‘47 to the following January with CIE in Carlow.

In June 1948, Odran was taken on in a temporary capacity by Carlow Co Council as a clerical officer and that position quickly became permanent. He ended as a staff officer with the local authority, working in the motor tax and accounts divisions.

Fintan noted his dad’s work brought him far beyond the council office. As road safety officer, he travelled throughout much of Leinster, visiting schools and teaching children the rules of the road.

He also focused strongly on the prevention of farm accidents, something that, no doubt, came from his own understanding of farming life and the dangers associated with it. “He took that role very seriously because Dad believed in doing things properly, to the very best of his ability.” Fintan said his father and mother – Clare Daly, a native of Drimoleague, West Cork – met in Dublin and were married in 1963. Together they had two children, himself and his sister Ann, and the family home was on the Tullow Road. “After Clare passed away 13 years ago, Dad continued to live there until he later moved next door to the wonderful Hillview convalescent home. Our family will always be grateful to the staff there who cared for Dad with such kindness.” In the sporting arena, Odran was an avid GAA supporter. He was a long-time treasurer and executive member of Carlow Town Hurling and Camogie Club. “Like so many things in his life, he gave his time quietly, faithfully and without looking for praise. He simply believed in community, in showing up and doing his part.” In a Facebook tribute, the Carlow town club described Odran as ‘a man of exemplary character and a fíor Gael’.

He also served as oifigeach Gaelach (Irish officer) with Carlow County Board of the GAA. Members of the county board attended Odran’s obsequies.

Fintan reflected that, over the years, his wife (the former Kelly Robinson from Killaleagh, Co Down) and, later, their children Oisín and Aoife, would travel from the USA to Carlow. “Dad absolutely loved those visits – they meant the world to him. He also travelled frequently to the United States to see us, often staying for as much as a month at a time.” He was so proud of his Dublin grandchildren Stephen and Ben and the fact that they are both excelling in GAA sports with Cuala, one of Dublin’s most successful clubs of recent years, based in Dalkey.

During visits to the ‘Big Apple’, Odran became friends with many of Fintan’s restaurant patrons and neighbours. “Even now, people ask about him and remember the stories he told.” Fintan said Odran loved company, a chat and people dropping in, even for only a few minutes. “He relished the quick visits from friends, neighbours and even the meals on wheels deliveries.

“I would often see the camera at the house pop up on my phone, showing someone arriving at the front door. Fifteen minutes later, the driver would still be there, deep in conversation with Dad. I can only imagine they made sure he was their last stop, because once Dad got going, there was no quick escape.” Odran was never a big drinker but when Fintan came home, they always went to dinner and shared a bottle of wine or two. “Those evenings became very special to me. They were simple times, but are the ones I will carry with me forever: sitting together, talking, laughing and listening to him tell yet another story.” Many times, he (Fintan) offered his dad to come and live with them in the United States. “But he would not even entertain it. Dad was a Carlow man through and through. He loved his home, his town, his people and the life he had built there. Leaving Carlow was never something he would consider.” Odran was loyal to his family, to his work, to his friends, to his club and to Carlow. “He lived a long, full and good life. He did not need great drama or attention. He found joy in family, in conversation, in stories, in community and in the familiar places and people he loved.

“To me, he was simply Dad. He was steady, funny, kind, dependable and full of life right to the end. He gave us roots; he gave us stories; he gave us memories that will last long after today.” Fintan thanked “everyone who called to Odran, cared for him, laughed with him, listened to him and loved him.” He concluded: “Dad, you were a Carlow man to your core and you will always be remembered with great love.” Fintan then called on John McDarby, a great friend of Odran and former work colleague at Carlow Co Council, to say a few words ‘as Gaeilge’. Odran and John shared a great love of the Irish language, both being fluent speakers.

Fintan spoke of the family’s deep appreciation to John and his wife Anne, who had been great friends down the years, always being there for his dad, helping him with shopping, cooking for him and opening up their home to Odran.

John, who is Carlow Co Council’s road safety promotion officer, having first spoken in Irish, said they were honouring a friend and colleague “who was very important to us all”.

Using the Irish version, Odhrán, John described him as “a big, kind man and we greatly valued his presence and the respect he showed to everyone”.

Odhrán had great experience and knowledge “and that sense and understanding were evident in his work every day.

“He worked honestly and diligently, without noise or pride, never seeking recognition, yet earning great respect in return.

“He was a Gaelic-minded man – a reader, a listener and a thinker and there was always thought and care in his words. Many of us learned from him and from his own example – how to be fair, reliable and dependable.” John said that while Odhrán’s absence was being felt today, “we are grateful for the time we spent together, for the language, the sport, for the people Odhrán influenced, to the positive impact he left behind and the friendships he formed”.

Odran reposed at Carpenter’s Funeral Home, Shamrock Square on the Friday afternoon and evening, which concluded with prayers led by Fr Tom Little, PP, Askea-Bennekerry-Tinryland. His remains were removed to the Cathedral of the Assumption on Saturday morning, where Fr Little celebrated Odran’s funeral Mass, assisted by Fr Teodor Tomasik, CC, Carlow.

Members of Carlow Town Hurling and Camogie Club formed a guard of honour.

Two significant mementos of Odran’s life, his Fáinne Nua and a hurley stick, were brought forward by grandchildren Oisín and Aoife. Readings at Mass were by grandchildren Stephen and Oisín, while Prayers of the Faithful were recited by grandchildren Aoife, Ben and Seán (family friend).

Odran’s remains were borne from the cathedral to the singing of the Tipperary anthem ***Slievenamon***, a favourite song of his.

On his final journey, a Carlow GAA jersey was placed on Odran’s coffin.

At St Mary’s Cemetery, where Odran was laid to rest in the Seeley family plot, Dublin uileannn piper Martin Nolan played the Irish traditional air ***An Cúilin*** as the coffin was borne from the hearse to the graveside, where the final prayers were recited by Fr Little.

Odran is survived by his son Fintan (New Jersey, USA), daughter Ann O’Rahilly (Dublin), grandchildren Stephen, Ben, Oisín and Aoife, son-in-law Bill, daughter-in-law Kelly, by nephews, nieces, extended family, relatives, former work colleagues and the GAA family in Carlow, as well as his many friends.

In a full-page ***Nationalist*** interview I conducted in late April 2018, shortly after Odran’s 90th birthday, the nonagenarian looked back on a life well-lived. He had celebrated that life milestone with Fintan and Ann, their children and extended family at a dinner in Durrow Castle, Co Laois.

Odran recalled in the interview a stand-out memory from his youth, which was cycling to Dublin on Sunday 23 August 1944 – the year Carlow claimed their lone Leinster football championship – to attend the All-Ireland football semi-final between Carlow and Kerry in Croke Park.

Cycling was a favoured mode of travel, as there were few cars on the road in that war-time era of rationing.

He said that on the day “O’Connell Street was like Tullow Street” ‒ a very busy main thoroughfare.

He also attended two historic All-Ireland hurling finals.

In 1939, he was present at the ‘thunder and lightning’ All-Ireland when Kilkenny edged out Cork by a point on the day World War 2 broke out. And in 1947, when ‘The Cats’ again defeated Cork by a point, he was in attendance for a game regarded as a hurling classic.

In terms of his involvement in Carlow GAA, Odran was an O’Hanrahan’s GFC clubman, serving as secretary at a time that ‘The Blues’ and the other town club of the day, Shamrocks, joined forces in 1951, going on to win the county SFC title that year. He also served as a Blues committee member.

He organised carnival football tournaments in the Fair Green during 1958 and 1959. His grandfather Tom Seeley was a founder member of The O’Hanrahan’s in 1919 before being imprisoned in Exeter. So ‘The Blues’ was a natural sporting home for Odran.

Odran served as oifigeach Gaelach of Carlow County Board of the GAA from the late 1980s until 2004 and for the best part of a decade as treasurer of Coisde na nÓg in the county, while also being on stewarding duty for a number of years at the players’ tunnel entrance to the Netwatch Cullen Park pitch.

In his younger days, he played a bit of football with ‘The Blues’ and hurled at junior level with the Carlow town club of the day.

In the interview, Odran said: “My mother gave birth to 14 children, but only two of us survived (he along with his sister Fiona) due to the high infant mortality at the time.” He stated that both the Seeleys and Whelans were Republican families who took the anti-Treaty side during the Civil War. Odran’s father Tom was arrested in November 1919 by British forces during the infamous Black and Tan era. He was interned in Exeter Prison, Devon until January 1922.

And he was subsequently jailed for his opposition to the Free State from April 1922 to May 1924. On being released, he returned to his barber business in Carlow.

Odran’s mother, the former Peg Whelan, was the last female prisoner to be released by the Free State, having been interned in Kilmainham Gaol and the North Dublin Union. In all, she was incarcerated for two years and three months.

Odran said all five females on the Whelan side of the family were, initially, members of Mná na hÉireann, which morphed into Cumann na mBan in 1917.

He was told by family members that when Michael Collins was killed at Béal na Bláth in August 1922, there was no sense of joy and his grandmother insisted that the prisoners in her cell knelt in prayer to the memory of Collins.