Aidan Mannion - the man who stood out
AIDAN Mannion stood out from the crowd - always.
In the last few days, we have heard or read about Aidan Mannion the historian, the businessman, the qualified accountant, the Rovers’ man, the music man, the author, the family man.
He was all of that and more, but with his unmissable shock of white hair and a smile warm enough to heat a housing estate, he was above all else a wonderful human being who cared deeply for his family and his community.
In 1994 in Giant’s Stadium in New York Aidan really did stand out from the crowd as he celebrated Ireland’s one-nil victory over Italy in the World Cup - his celebrations caught by an eagle-eyed photographer appearing in the following day’s New York Times. A man of interest, an interesting man.
He could talk to the wee hours on any topic, but unlike many who can talk, he was also a good listener. He took his time and gave his time to people and people loved that about him and they have been writing and talking about him in droves.
The reaction to his death, the care and time that hundreds of people (many of them just signing off their tribute with the words ‘A Customer’), have taken to craft their thoughts on Aidan, is proof, although it is not needed, that people cared about him, that he made an impression, he made an impact, he matters.
Long after this newspaper article is folded away, Aidan will still be fondly remembered by those who loved him, by the people of Sligo (town and county) and by those who hold Sligo Rovers deep in their hearts.
Aidan passed away at Sligo University Hospital on Saturday last, December 2, surrounded by his loving family and friends.
Yesterday morning hundreds gathered for his Requiem Mass celebrated by Fr Pat Lombard, PP St Anne’s Parish, who thanked Aidan “for the memories” adding “may your example and courage inspire us all”. Fr Lombard said the large numbers who attended at the funeral home and at yesterday’s funeral Mass is indicative of the love and respect for Aidan and the Mannion family. He said a guard of honour from Summerhill College was hugely fitting while there were notable representations from Sligo Rovers and Sligo Field Club.
Fr Lombard told the congregation that “Aidan has probably crammed more into his life than most of us would if we had two lives to live”.
His sons Patrick and Ross and his wife Dympna spoke movingly about Aidan following the distribution of Holy communion.
Patrick recalled: “If you know Aidan Mannion, you know he loved engines, whether planes, boats or engines, Dad didn’t discriminate, but for a man that loved powerful engines, he just loved to ‘cruise’ and that also applied to his daily life.”
He said: “If I could tell one thing, it would be that the three of us (Ross, Claire and Patrick) will continue our lives in a way he would be proud of, and we will look after Mum. Farewell to my ‘auld segotia’, we love you so much.”
Ross spoke of his father’s varied interests, from music, football, history and more. Referencing the success of The Record Room which Aidan, Gerry Taheny and Kevin Flannery opened in 1983 he said, “for two lads from Circular Road and St Brigid’s, they took on the world”.
He spoke lovingly of the special relationship Aidan had with their sister and his daughter Claire who was unable to attend the funeral as she underwent surgery in Beaumont Hospital. “They both believed in each other. The understanding they have was due to their medical journeys has made their connections that bit deeper, words did not have to be spoken between them,” he said.
He said there are only two commodities worth having in life - people and time, and his Dad was a people’s person and gave time to everyone. Quoting a line from Shane McGowan’s memorable Rainy Night in Soho he concluded: “You are the measure of my dreams”.
Aidan’s wife Dympna in a beautiful personal tribute recalled the first time she met Aidan - at Mass. Later, one night in the Cosy Café on Markievicz Road he spotted her and from that moment on their relationship started. “We fumbled through life like everyone else, we had bad times and we had good times. Aidan encouraged all our children to be passionate about what they wanted to do in life, believing they would be best at what they were passionate about. He was passionate about giving people a chance.
“He thought nothing about money. Going into a restaurant with him he would always say to me ‘have you money for I have none’, I asked him one day if he thought he was royalty, not needing money. He didn’t reply!” The congregation responded with long applause to the personal, eloquent words shared by Patrick, Ross and Dympna.
A founding member of the Sligo Rovers Heritage Group, he was editor of ‘The Bit O’Red: A History of Sligo Rovers - 1928-2016’ which was published in 2016.
For most people however, his love affair with music, which found its voice in the iconic The Record Room on High Street (later moving to Grattan Street) which he, Kevin Flannery and the late Gerry Taheny opened in 1983, is how they will remember him and where many met him first, in a shop which has held its relevance despite so much change in that industry. It did so because of Aidan’s charisma and uniqueness behind the counter backed up by the often unsung (no pun intended) energy and acumen of Kevin Flannery.
The Record Room, opened in 1983 by the late Larry Gogan, continues to attract customers from Dingle to Dunfanaghy, New York to New Ross, this week so many of them are having their say online and what they have to say is sweet music confirming Aidan’s wonderful, easy way with the public.
Much more than a business which sold records and sold musical instruments, for many years it was a basecamp for finding and booking bands to play in Sligo town, memorably one such booking of The Dubliners in 1987 who had just appeared a week earlier singing ‘The Irish Rover’ on Top of The Pops with The Pogues - whose front man Shane McGowan has also left this world in only recent days. Under his own record label, he launched the first single by a band called IOYOU in 1997 - and from there a band with worldwide acclaim would emerge. You may have heard of them, Westlife - whose band members have been regular visitors to the shop over the years.
A hop and a skip away from The Record Room then moved to Grattan Street his wonderful wife Dympna held court in the appropriately named (for her vivacity alone) The Style Emporium. As a couple they have been at the heart of Sligo and its town centre for decades.
Born in 1954 at Garden Hill Nursing Home, he joked in a 2021 with The Sligo Weekender that he was “almost born in The Showgrounds”. He grew up on Circular Road, his parents were Gerry Mannion from Sooey and Gertrude O’Grady from Markree. A love for football and music intertwined as he grew up in Sligo, the first record he bought featured Ballyshannon-born legend Rory Gallagher and his band Taste, and Aidan was often seen in recent years in the Erne town and was in regular contact with the editor of the local newspaper there while compiling his opus on Sligo Rovers, following up on Donegal players and connections with Sligo Rovers.
Aidan’s passion for Sligo Rovers is well known. A trustee of the club (following in the footsteps of his father Gerry) he is a former treasurer of the club, a founding member of the Sligo Rovers Heritage Group. ‘The Bit O’Red: A History of Sligo Rovers - 19282016’ published in 2016 which was lovingly edited by Aidan is perhaps one of his most important contributions he has made to the story of this famous club.
Long before he became a fan, Aidan was himself a handy footballer himself, part of the 1971 All-Ireland winning Summerhill College side. He recalled in 2021 his early days watching Rovers: “My mother brought me to see Sligo Rovers when I was about three or four years old in the late 1950s. I can still see Johnny Armstrong wearing the number 11 jersey, running out on the wing on the far side of The Showgrounds. He was playing in a blue jersey, but that was Sligo Rovers second strip.”
He fondly recalled in 1970 before the FAI Cup final meeting Dixie Dean in the West County Hotel in Lucan, a traditional gathering spot for Sligo Rovers fans. Dixie Dean of course had played for Rovers in the 1939 FAI Cup Final, Aidan’s meeting with him a very special memory. In 2016, as Aidan’s guests, Dixie Dean’s daughter and her husband flew over to Sligo where they attended the launch of Aidan’s opus on the club.
In addition to his work in preserving the history of Sligo Rovers, Aidan’s love of history is well documented. For many years he made a clarion call for more to be made of the county’s history and its natural beauty. Commenting on Sligo artefacts in the National Museum and paintings in the National Gallery with a Sligo heritage he told the Weekender in 2021: “Dublin is selling Sligo - and we are not selling it enough.”
He was a man of so many parts, little wonder so many came to oay their last respects to him, his impact on Sligo is palpable, his memory will live long in the town and county he loved with a passion.
Following Aidan’s Requiem Mass yesterday he was laid to rest in Sligo Cemetery.
Deepest sympathy is extended to Aidan’s wife Dympna and their children Ross, Patrick and Claire; brothers Dermot, Aengus, Ultan and Fergus; sisters Geraldine, Grainne and Deirdre, Ross’s partner Claire, Patrick’s partner Jennifer, Claire’s partner Zak, grandchildren Luke, Anna and Zach, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, his surviving aunt Anne MacMathuna and his surviving uncles Liam MacMathuna and Tony Gray, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends. May he rest in peace.