Paul was proud of family’s ownership of Saltees
Obituaries and appreciations of loved ones are published free of charge. They can either be sent directly to us or we can help with writing them
RETIRED dentist Dr. Paul Neale of Rathgar, Dublin and Kilmore Quay who died recently, was a son of Prince Michael and Anne Saltees, owners of the Saltee Islands and was very proud of his family heritage.
Dr. Neale died peacefully on January 14 following an illness, in the Mater Private Hospital, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Barbara (Sherry); his children Clare, Paul and Edward; his granddaughter Jemima; brothers Michael, John, Manfred and Richard; sister Anne; sistersin-law; brothers-in-law; his dog lucky and his extended family and friends.
Born in 1950, the second youngest child of the Saltee Island owners, he loved to point out that on his birth cert his father’s occupation was listed as ‘Prince’ and as his wife Barbara remarked in an emotional eulogy at his funeral, ‘certainly Paul as his son was a prince among men’.
Prince Michael and Anne Saltees bought the Saltee Islands in December 1943 and later changed their surname to ‘Saltees’ by deed poll. Since the death of Prince Michael the First in January of 1998, the islands have been owned by his sons with the title having passed to his eldest son Michael.
The legendary story of the family’s ownership of the islands is that as a young boy in 1920, Michael senior made a vow to his mother that one day he would own the Saltee Islands and become the first prince.
Paul remembered as a sixyear old boy attending a coronation ceremony for his father on the Great Saltee in 1956. A throne, flag staff and obelisk were shipped to the island for the occasion. The throne is a memorial to Michael’s mother while the obelisk bears a plaque with his own likeness in profile.
One of the first jobs carried out on the newly-purchased island was to clear a field as a landing strip for the late Prince Michael’s private airplane which he regularly flew to the Great Saltee.
Paul was educated at Rockwell College and went on to study Dentistry in UCD. After he qualified, he worked as a dentist in the UK for several years but his heart was always in Ireland and being homesick, he returned regularly to visit family and friends and to attend rugby matches.
He met his wife Barbara 28 years ago on a night out in Dublin when her handbag was stolen and she didn’t have a key to get into her apartment. He helped a Garda break down the door and as she was due to fly out on holiday the next morning, he assured her he would install a new lock.
When Barbara returned from holiday, she found the lock fixed, as promised and as she said, from that day Paul Neale never let her down and was always there for her in good times and bad.
Paul returned to Ireland and established a dental practice on Ballymun Road in Dublin and later a second practice at The Square in Tallaght. He was a brilliant dentist whose patient care and reassurance was second to none. Just before retiring, he did an advanced course in Dentistry in Trinity College and while it was not particularly relevant to his career, he enjoyed using his brain in an academic way again.
Following retirement, his thirst for knowledge continued and he completed a two-year course in Horticulture but the more Latin names he discovered, the more he was afraid to do anything but mow the lawn, according to Barbara.
Other extra-mural courses followed at Trinity including Irish history and Rembrandt and he studied Fine Arts with the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers. He loved history and among his specialist subjects were 1798 and 1916. He sometimes gave history tours around Dublin to friends. He and Bartaba were members of Wexford Historical Society.
Paul loved the Saltee Islands and enjoyed sharing them with his friends and showing them off. He was proud of what his father had achieved and some of his most treasured times were spent there.
‘Everytime we went out, especially to his favourite shop Home Store and More, everything he saw, he would say ‘that would be useful for the island’,’ said Barbara. Paul displayed an amazing zest for life that people around him were privileged to witness. In 2005, he completed a tandem parachute jump onto the Great Saltee island to raise funds for the RNLI; he dived with great white sharks in South Africa and last September, while undergoing chemotherapy treatment, he travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia with Barbara.
He was diagnosed with cancer four years ago and continued to live life to the full, never complaining when he felt unwell. Despite having endured almost six months of chemo, he insisted that he and Barbara go to New York for four nights in December.
The couple bought a house in Kilmore Quay several years ago and spent a lot of time together in the area where they made many friends. Barbara said she was so sad that Paul never got a chance to come down, as planned, and just breathe in the great air and enjoy the warm friendships that were extended to her during the difficult days following his death. ‘I was lucky to have 28 years of love, fun, laughter and joy with the generous, kind and loving person who was Paul Neale. I will miss him terribly and I know that all of us have lost a special person in our lives’, she said.
Paul reposed at Fanagan’s Funeral Home at Aungier Street in Dublin before the removal to St. Peter’s Church in Kilmore Quay for funeral Mass last Thursday. Burial took place in the family vault at Bannow Bay where his parents and other relatives are interred. Afterwards, more than 100 mourners, from around Ireland and the UK and Nigeria gathered for a meal in the Stella Maris Centre where a tribute wad paid to Paul by the Mayor of Wexford Cllr. Jim Moore who spoke about the Neale family’s proud association with the Great Saltee Island.
The Mayor said the Neale family shared the island with the local community and their association with the islands was part of the history and cultural heritage of the area.
He said Paul and his wife Barbara’s decision to buy a house in Kilmore Quay had made that connection even more personal. He said the community shared in the family’s sense of loss and he extended sympathy on behalf of local people. Photographs of the Saltee Islands were on display in the Stella Maris Centre for the occasion.
Paul’s brother Manfred also spoke, recounting humorous stories from his brother’s full and eventful life.
The Great Saltee which is renowned as a haven for seabirds and grey seals, is open to the public following a decree by the late Prince Michael that: ‘All people young and old, are welcome to come, see and enjoy the islands, and leave them as they found them for the unborn generations to come see and enjoy.’ Visiting the Little Saltee due is not allowed due to hazardous landing conditions.