A ‘sound man’ you could trust with your life
HOW do you find words adequate enough to do justice to a man like Seamus Mcconville? It just isn't possible. I speak from a lifetime of association with him, as a working colleague in The Kerryman and as a friend going back to the time when I joined The Kerryman in 1959.
The first thing that struck me about him all those years ago was his magnificent physique. He cut a mighty figure at the rugby dances in the Meadowlands Hotel when he was courting Dolores and, as I got to know him more and more in a working capacity, I came to realise just how gifted he was as a journalist.
Dan Nolan certainly knew what he was doing in 1957 when he brought him to Tralee to work as news editor under Con Casey. Seamus had a marvellous eye for a story, knew how to present it to best possible effect, and, without question, The Kerryman benefited immensely over the years from his input into the paper.
He wasn't just good at writing. He was also brilliant at lay-out and, bringing other gifts into play such as his even temperament and absolute attention to detail, it was in the natural order of things that he would succeed Con Casey as Editor of The Kerryman shortly after our move to Clash from Rock Street.
I was in situ as Sports Editor before the move to Clash and, following the appointment of Seamus as Editor in 1974, he was the man to whom I had to answer. Thankfully, we gelled really well and, as it turned out, I was his right-hand man for a number of years, doubling up as Deputy Editor. I look back now and smile when I think of some of the editorials that I compiled in those days.
Mind you, Seamus would only be missing for very good reasons. He was a man who believed in absolute commitment to the job and, really, Independent Newspapers, which took over The Kerryman in 1973, could never have rewarded him enough. The 40-hour week certainly didn't fit into his scheme of things and I often remember, on my way to cover weekend matches outside Tralee, seeing his car in the car park of The Kerryman in Clash. That car could still be there hours later on my way home and you don't easily forget things like that about a man.
He was so upstanding about everything and it all came from a moral fibre which was deeply ingrained in him. You could trust him with your life, absolutely, and the respect which he commanded across all spectrums of life in Kerry said it all for him.
He might have been from up the country, as they say, but he simply loved Tralee and the county of Kerry, especially his idyllic retreat in the heart of South Kerry. They will miss him there.
It was a long time ago when Eamon de Valera rang him in his preKerryman days at the Irish News Agency in Dublin and gave him an important story. Ever since, he has walked in the company of many great people, of all hues, and he had the presence, class and charm to be very much at ease with all of them.
Seamus was, of course, a familiar face across the nation at one time. That is when he covered the Kerry scene for RTE along with Padraig Kennelly, with probably his most famous assignment being the Moss Moore murder.
Today, he is at peace after very bravely fighting a battle against leukemia for ten years. On my last visit to him in the Bon Secours Hospital in Tralee, he was clearly unwell, but the gentle and accepting nature of the man shone out like a shining beacon.
Perhaps it came from the very strong Catholic faith which he possessed and, more importantly, demonstrated in a very visible way. He lived by all the rules that count and, for sure, he gave journalism in Kerry, and journalism as a whole, a really good name.
The Lord chose to call him in the early hours of last Sunday morning and all of us who knew him are greatly saddened by his loss. He stood for so many things, decency, honesty and, most important of all in his profession, integrity, and he will always be remembered for those qualities.
He will be remembered, too, for the help, advice and encouragement which he gave over the years to raw journalistic recruits, some of whom hold very important positions today.
In essence, Seamus Mcconville was one hell of a sound man and a gentleman to the very core. Tralee and the county of Kerry is most definitely a poorer place because of his death.