Late Neily’s love of his family and music knew no bounds
“LIVE every day as if it’s your last.... and one day you’ll be right!” This was one of the many sayings of Cornelius (Neily) O’Flynn late of Gurteen, Kanturk and for all who knew him symbolised his happy go lucky personality and his positive attitude towards life.
Neily hailed from Dysart, Dromagh and was the third eldest child of his late parents Con and Ellen. He was a keen footballer in his youth playing at underage and Junior levels for Dromtarriffe G.A.A. Club and maintained his passion for both hurling and football by being an avid Cork supporter all his life.
Being a hard worker and highly skilled tradesman, Neily was known far and wide having worked for over 50 years as a mason plasterer across County Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Waterford and beyond. There weren’t many places that you could mention that he wouldn’t have plastered a bungalow or had done the stonework on a church, school, hotel or parish hall and he always had a story to tell about the time he spent there and the people he met.
Neily had a great love of music, singing and dancing and was well renowned for “stepping it out” in Dromtarriffe Community Centre, for giving a rendition of a Foster and Allen ballad or, should the occasion call for it, “On The Banks of my own Lovely Lee”. Never a television lover, he enjoyed nothing more than listening to country music in the evenings on the radio on, of course, his beloved County Sound.
Above all, Neily was a family man and always put them first. He was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle and godfather . He faced many challenges in his life but accepted whatever life presented him without hesitation or complaint. He cherished those who were dear to him especially his six grandchildren and always made the time to share with them and make them laugh.
A people person Neily had a great way about him. He could talk to anyone and treated everyone equally. His charm, sense of humour and quick wit endeared him to many and the huge crowd that attended his funeral were testament to this. A wise man once said that “having met a person you might not always remember what they said to you but you will always remember how they made you feel”. Neily seemed to understand the meaning of this as he always tried to lift your spirits when he met you by “having the craic” and not allowing you to take yourself too seriously. His character around Dromtarriffe and Kanturk will be sadly missed.
Neily is survived by his devoted widow Anne, his daughter Helena, sons Neilus and Declan, son-in-law Paul Roche, daughter-in-law Bridget O’ Flynn, grandchildren Seán, Tiernan, Josh, Angelina, Jacqueline and Callum, sisters Maureen and Evelyn, sisters- in-law, brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
His Birthday Remembrance took place on Tuesday March 7th. May he rest in peace.