O’Neill family awstruck at support from community
MIKE O’Neill may not have received a typical send-off on Monday at the end of his 71 years – but given the circumstances, it was as close to perfect as it could have been.
That was the view of his son, Eoghan who said the send-off was as perfect as it could have been. “My family would really like to stress how grateful we are to the community around us for helping us in any way over the last few days. They have been outstanding,” he added.
Mike’s passions were imprinted across the day’s events. His own Beetle led the cortége and was followed by many more VWs driven by the CampFest crew. Many figures from the Railway Tavern’s legendary Sunday-night sessions paid musical tribute to Mike on the day, while his daughter, Tracy, sang a couple of songs herself at the graveside, where Mort Hanley presided over ceremonies.
Members of groups devoted to other passions of his – such as mountaineering and drama – were also there to pay tribute.
“In recent years, he learned himself the things he enjoyed most in life: you have music, his VW Beetles; his grá for travelling, which he hadn’t done much of until the last 15 years; the railway; and above all, a love for the county Kerry.
“He walked nearly every inch of it. The county was his number-one passion. He devoted himself to the county and promoting it.”
At the end of what have been some very difficult days, Eoghan was also keen to tip his hat to everyone who played their part in providing their support.
“On behalf of my family, we want to thank so many people for the help we received: from our extended family on both sides; Camp as a community, as I’ve mentioned; and then all the groups he was part of, such as Camp Drama, CampFest, and the Tralee Mountaineering Club.
“But Kerry as a whole as well. We received a lot of messages from throughout the county, beyond the county, and even all over the world.
“I don’t think there’s a person who walked into the bar over the years – be it once or a hundred times – that didn’t have a good memory or story of him. I hope those stories and memories are shared, to keep them alive.”