Aleck’s influence on lives of others

THE “undimmed energy” of the late Aleck Crichton was recalled by his son- in- law John Cooke at his funeral eulogy at Christ Church, Beltra on Saturday.

“All of us will have different recollections. But the recollection common to all of us will have been Aleck’s stream of energetic interests, and his keenness to pursue them, and to know whether they were shared by others,” he told mourners.

“He would send cards and letters – often hand- written, sometimes in pencil - to all sorts and conditions of people, from government Ministers downwards.

“What he wrote might be brief, but always penetrating. The subject could be personal, local or national.

“He once asked: “don’t you want to influence other people?” One correspondent wrote about Aleck’s influence and quoted Pericles:

“What you leave behind is not that which is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

“Front and centre in the middle phase of his life was the energy that he devoted to John Jameson & Son. He became an entrepreneur, developing the brand. He made long expeditions to the United States to do so.

“He was the prime mover in the merger forming Irish Distillers. It was the culmination of his vision for modernising the entire Irish distilling industry.

“Alongside Irish Distillers there was Carrowgarry and sheep- farming. This was his main project on finally coming to live in Sligo. He enjoyed the whole business of farming, raising sheep, and buying and selling. Day or night, he was happy haggling over prices. It was – to use another expression of his - “great sport”.

“Other projects was could be the Sligo Feis Ceoil, chamber music, the Yeats Society, or the Beltra Show. He offered practical sponsorship as well as encouragement – often generously but anonymously.

“Only last year he took care to renew his passport, looking forward to the day when further international travels might beckon.

“His work for the Yeats Society will have a special place. It began quite early in his life, when Joan’s uncle, Professor Tom Henn, set up the Yeats Summer School.

“Aleck’s work for the Society, including sponsorship ( again, often anonymous) continued way past his retirement as President in his mid- nineties.

“How to account for such undimmed energy and activity? He had, it seems to me, a sense of what mattered and what did not really matter. He tended to say that this came from his experience of the war. It gave him a keen appreciation of life, and thankfulness to have emerged alive.

“It also lay at the heart of his feeling for the importance of the European Community, and his passion for how Sligo might benefit from it,” he said.

In his 98th year the French government made Aleck a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour for his participation in the War.

He is survived by his sister Brigid, his daughters Mary ( Willis), Tania ( Cooke), Barbara