Family and friends heartbroken after losing Domhnall

THE eldest sister of Domhnall Mac Síthigh has said her family is heartbroken at the death of her brother, who she described as ‘a charismatic, extraordinary all-rounder.’

Joan Coen née Sheehy told The Kerryman that her brother’s many passions - including seafaring, writing, storytelling and stonework - stemmed from his upbringing in Baile Eaglaise.

“There was a tradition of seafaring on my mother’s side of the family and Domhnall grew up around stories of the sea. It was from there that his love of the sea and a thirst to travel by naomhóg blossomed.

“He’d always go down to the quay at Baile an Challa, dying to be a part of it all. When he was around five or six a local man called ‘Paddy an Oileán’ took pity on him and helped him realise a dream by carrying him out in a boat and that was the start of Domhnall as a seafarer,” she added.

Joan went on to explain that his godfather, John Connor, introduced him to stonework, another talent that the west Kerry man mastered. She described Domhnall as ‘very spiritual’ and said he always carried holy water with him on the naomhóg.

“But that’s only scratching the surface of what Domhnall was about,” Joan said. “He also grew up around a tradition of folklore and he carried that with him, too.

“He was a man of so many talents: hillwalking, fishing, broadcasting, he was extraordinary, really. He knew the locality, the Blasket islands, and the seas around Corca Dhuibhne like the back of his hand. He knew where every rock was hidden by the sea.

“He worked as a woodwork teacher in Drogheda, having trained in Cork, but after five years of teaching he returned home to follow his heart and live off fishing and care for his parents. His interest in the locality saw him do so much work and study, and he was always happy to help people coming in to the area to trace their roots, or teach them about Corca Dhuibhne.”

Joan said her family misses Domhnall terribly, praising him for his ability to make free with everyone.

“My own family was mad about him, everyone was. People came into Ballyferriter as strangers but they always left as a friend of Domhnall’s. As Liam Ó Maonlaí said, ‘nobody was a stranger to Danny.’ We’re heartbroken, just heartbroken.”

As a former woodwork teacher, Domhnall was a gifted craftsman, a skill his nephew, Seán Mac an TSíthigh acknowledged when he spoke to The Kerryman from New York this week.

“He loved that kind of work and even in recent weeks he mixed that skill with his incomparable respect for the history of his locality, performing repairs on an old bothán using materials that haven’t been used with years,” the RTÉ reporter said. “Instead of using cement he used what was used years ago, an old yellow binder called ‘guíon’, which is extracted from marshy land. He revelled in that kind of thing.

“When I think of his construction work I also think of his time with other locals as they built Charlie Haughey’s holiday home out on Inis Mhic Aoibhleáin years ago. Himself and his fellow workers had great craic on the island at that time and their great stories live on to this day.”

In Ballyferriter, An tAthair Eoghan Ó Cadhla said Domhnall Mac Síthigh’s unrivalled knowledge of Corca Dhuibhne’s history and traditions will leave “an enduring legacy”.

Speaking to The Kerryman, An tAthair Ó Cadhla said there’s “an unbelievable void” in West Kerry after Mr Mac Síthigh’s tragic death last week, and extended his deepest sympathies to Domhnall’s wife, Máire, his family, and the crew of Naomhóg na Tinte. Fr Ó Cadhla was quick to point to the Baile Eaglaise man’s achievements during his 66 years and spoke with great fervour of a man he befriended upon taking up the role of parish priest in Ballyferriter in 2008.

“Domhnall was very generous with his time and his many talents,” An tAthair Ó Cadhla said. “He had an unrivalled knowledge of his locality, which he was always happy to share with everyone. He was inspiring and interesting, and he leaves behind a bounty of prose and poetry, some of the finest to ever come from this region.

“The clarity with which he communicated with people of all ages through face-to-face interactions, public appearances at exhibitions and launches, and media contributions made him one of the great local ambassadors.

“He had a superb understanding of local seafaring traditions and pilgrimage, and his own voyages have been well documented. Bhí spéis ar leith aige sa Ghaelainn, agus spreag sé mórán daoine chun í a labhairt.

An tAthair Ó Cadhla concluded his tribute with Domhnall’s translation of the words of poet John O’Donohue, saying “Go raibh agat cosaint do shinsear; Go seola gaoth bhog na focail ghrámhara seo i do thimpeall; Mar chlóca coimhdeachta ag slánú do shaoil.”