TOWN’S SHOCK AT THE LOSS OF BARRY
TRAGIC DEATH OF BARRY ENNIS
WEXFORD was left stunned and shocked following the tragic death of charismatic local entrepreneur and promoter Barry Ennis.
Barry, known in recent years for his work bringing the Spiegeltent Festival to Wexford with his then-business partner Bryan Byrne, was found dead at Edenvale shortly before 11 p.m. last Tuesday night.
Speaking at Barry’s funeral Mass at a packed Church of the Annunciation in Clonard on Saturday, one of his brothers, Alan, said the family were overwhelmed by the tributes paid to Barry.
‘He would have been charmed and delighted by the things that were written about him,’ Alan said.
Rev Arthur Minion told fellow mourners that ‘ there is a severe and sharp sense of loss. There are no easy answers when life ends like this and there is no getting over it.’
WEXFORD came out in great numbers on Saturday for the funeral Mass of ‘man about town’ and music promoter Barry Ennis whose death aged 38 has rocked the Irish music scene and the town he helped to transform.
On a bitterly cold, grey winter’s day when not a breath of wind could be felt, mourners, still reeling from the news of Barry’s tragic death four days earlier, gathered to pay their final respects to the rosy cheeked Wexford man at Clonard Church, not far from where the engaged father-of-two grew up.
Shaken by grief the extended Ennis family took their seats to the front of the centre rows of pews as one of Barry’s older brothers, Alan lightened the sombre air to proceedings with some stories about his late brother.
‘Barry would have loved this many people at all of his gigs!’ Alan said with a warm smile.
Having been told to keep his eulogy short, he unfolded reams of paper from the pulpit which spilled freely onto the ground. He said the family were overwhelmed by the tributes paid to Barry on Facebook, from bands including The Beautiful South, to internationally renowned author Eoin Colfer.
‘He would have been charmed and delighted by the things that were written about him,’ Alan said.
He recalled taking Barry to Leeds in the early 1990s and how they held up two planes by taking their seat on the wrong flight.
He said the best description he heard about Barry was that he was a man about town.
Describing Barry as his good mate, author Eoin Colfer said: ‘Barry would have loved to have seen so many people here, but he would have charged them all.’
Describing the day as ‘ terrible’ for the Ennis family, he recalled his deceased friend’s passion and drive and how, along with Brian Byrne, Barry achieved his dream of getting a new festival off the ground in Wexford.
‘You can just imagine Barry and Brian proposing to banks the idea of bringing a festival to a town that already has an enormous festival, at the same time of the year and how they wanted to run it 25 metres from the other festival, in the winter, in a tent by the sea! It should never have worked but somehow it did work and it became enormously successful because what they didn’t bank on was the drive Barry had. All you had to do was to look into those manic eyes and at those rosy cheeks and you knew it was going to happen.’
Mr Colfer said what separated Barry from other promoters was his unfailing championing of local talent, often above more renowned national acts.
‘No job was too big or too small for Barry. He was such a personality that I find it difficult to speak about him in the past tense. It seems inconcievable to me to have a Wexford without Barry Ennis, him being the pillar of the artistic community.’
Recalling working on Barry on the show Bellbottoms, Eoin Colfer said he got to know Barry during this time and found out just how important Barry’s parents, siblings, fiancé, and above all children, Sarah-Kate and Leila were to him.
‘ They were his two diamonds who he sold every ticket for out in the rain. They were his girls who shone for him all of his life and now he is in the stars and he is shining for them.’
Eyes downcast in grief, the author alluded to Barry’s troubles, saying: ‘We wish we knew, Barry,’ before adding that he wished that he and some of Barry’s friends could have done more to help him.
Paraphrasing one of Barry’s friend’s Facebook posts, Mr Colfer said Barry has no doubt already signed management contracts for George Michael and David Bowie in heaven.
He said whenever an aspiring musician graces the Spielgentent stage for the first time, and whenever an international star performs at the venue, the presence of Barry Ennis will be felt.
‘Barry Ennis will be the spirit of Christmas past every November in Spielgetent but in November 2017 it will be missing a few sprinkles of magic dust. We are devastated today and all we can do is hope that somehow, somewhere you are finally at peace.’
Fr Barry Larkin offered his sympathies to the Ennis family, saying many people had travelled to the Mass from Scotland, England and from across Ireland. Symbols of Barry’s life were brought to the altar by family members including a family photograph, a painting of a man in an airport with a tear in his eye which Barry loved, a hat symbolising everything he did for Wexford and his Kindle, which the avid reader was seldom without.
Reverend Arthur Minion said as humans, the only thing we can be sure of is that we will muck up our dreams and hopes. He spoke of Barry’s youth in Kennedy Park growing up in a big family and of his time at the CBS and later at Joyce’s and at Stafford’s Bakery in Taghmon.
He said Barry helped his father Pat build the family home in Barntown and recalled some wonderful stories about how great Barry was at getting things done, whether a barber was needed for a music promoter after hours (he arranged it on Facebook) or how unphased he was when things went wrong.
‘He brought enormous joy and business to Wexford town and county through his endeavours. These events have sustained Wexford. I see so many other towns and villages across the country which are sad and sorrowful places devoid of business, entertainment and morale.’
He recalled the Heritage Fest Barry organised at the National Heritage Park in 2012 and the success of the Spiegeltent, adding that Barry spent a lot of money funding them.
‘It was quite a considerable gift to the town of Wexford. He was a dapper dresser which only complimented his charming personality. For those around him the words shock, disbelief, pain, hurt , grief, sorrow and anger only begin to describe the state where those who loved him find themselves in today. The unanswered question is why. There is a severe and sharp sense of loss. There are no easy answers when life ends like this and there is no getting over it.’
He said Barry would have felt the loss of people who lost loved ones in equally tragic circumstances, before saying that people who care like Barry may yet be the same people who go on to cause horrific grief, to their loved ones, in turn.
‘Just go and talk to someone. Talk to me; I am your brother; I want to help and I care. I do care. Regrettably this is all too real in our lives today,’ he said.
He spoke of how Barry’s family kept vigil with his remains on Thursday night and how his friends who he enjoyed Friday night drinks with spent their Friday night beside his casket.
‘ These were gestures of the love and respect Barry’s family and friends had for Barry. Continue recalling and retelling stories about Barry and continue shedding tears, laughing and smiling. These stories will continue to give you help and strength.’
Mick Flannery performed his soul stirring song ‘Goodbye’ and it resonated deeply with the mourners, while Ben Blance played an impassioned ‘Hallelujah’ as Barry’s remains were brought from the church. Mourners gathered outside as Barry made his final journey to St Ibar’s Cemetery in Crosstown.