William led by example as as kind, loving gentleman Fr Derry was dedicated to the people he served
THE late William Maher was a much-loved gentleman who was devoted to his family. He passed away in recent weeks at the age of 72.
William was also dedicated to his work at Youthreach in Bray as caretaker before he retired and will be very fondly remembered by students and staff.
He is survived by his wife Katherine, son Marcus, brother Charlie, sister Ellen, extended family and friends.
A native of Finglas, he had lived in Bray since the 1970s.
William was a man who always listened to and had time for his family, and others whom he encountered at work and in the community.
He loved to be busy, and took great pride in his neighbourhood. A resident of Sugarloaf Crescent, William was often to be seen planting flower-beds and trees nearby.
He enjoyed being out in the fresh air, and would turn his hand to anything.
He even built his own greenhouse in the garden, using some glass left over when a neighbour was changing their windows.
That greenhouse still stands and yielded great crops over the years, of tomatoes, cucumbers and other fruit and veg.
Marcus said that William was largely an easy-going dad. He might have been strict perhaps if there was danger involved, but overall he was relaxed and easy to talk to.
He like photography, and had one or two small cameras he enjoyed using.
William’s favourite sport to watch was rugby, and he also liked to watch the occasional football match.
He enjoyed his time at Youthreach where he got on very well with students and staff alike.
He was a thoughtful man, and could be sentimental. His family realised after he had passed away, that he had held on to many small gifts from them over the years.
William enjoyed the simple things in life and was happiest when working on some project or other.
Before Youthreach, he also worked at the sports centre in St Thomas’, as well as the Vila Pacis at the Queen of Peace church.
His former colleagues at Youthreach paid tribute to their ‘dear friend’, whom they said was a confidante as well as caretaker.
William worked there from 1999 until he 2011 when he closed the doors for the last time, hung up his belt and keys, and celebrated his retirement with a banquet and ceremony.
A sense of loss hung over the building last week as news spread of the passing of a man who had left a long lasting imprint on the halls of the education centre.
William did more than open and close the building daily. He took his role seriously by taking care of every person that walked through those doors.
He was a kind man who knew the value of having time for others, always willing to lendanearormakeacupoftea if your day wasn’t going so well. He loved to see the students and staff arrive daily, even though his day began much earlier with warming up the building, prepping the rooms and making the place feel very much like a home.
He greeted everyone with a smile. If you ever needed something done or answered about the building Willie was the go to. He knew the answer, where it is or how to get it done. He approached every task with love and enthusiasm, no job was too big or small or ever a problem.
Beyond his duties as caretaker he had a love of being surrounded by the young students. He would attend the annual sports day and they have fond memories of him playing boules on the lawn he had worked hard to cut perfectly for the event. One year he even got into a Sumo wrestling suit and matched up with a staff member. The result was a draw as far as the story goes.
He spoke so fondly of his wife Kathy and his son Marcus. Daily reports were given about how Marcus’s studies were going. He was such a proud father and devoted husband.
His colleagues would hear of Kathy’s ability to bake cakes and her love of cooking. He worked tirelessly for them and was so proud of his son who went on to a PHD. ‘My son is Dr Maher,’ he would say.
The lessons that he taught both staff and students at Youthreach were - ‘Be kind, do what you can with what you have, take time to listen to others, never judge and always greet a person with a smile and helping hand.’
A large crowd of mourners gathered to say a final farewell at the Queen of Peace church. FR Derry Buckley of the St Patrick’s Missionary Society in Kiltegan passed away recently aged 76 having spent most of his missionary life in Kenya.
Jeremiah Francis (Derry) Buckley was born on June 1, 1941, to Cornelius Buckley and his wife Mary (née Coleman) of Great William O’Brien Street, Blackpool, Cork. He received his primary education firstly at St Vincent’s Convent Primary School and later at Our Lady’s Mount (The North Monastery CBS Primary School). He continued at the North Monastery CBS for his secondary education. He sat the Leaving Certificate in June 1959 and came to Kiltegan in September.
He completed the Spiritual Year in June 1960 and proceeded to St Patrick’s, Douglas, Cork, from where he attended UCC. He graduated with an honours B.Sc degree in 1964; the course for honours physics was extended by one year at that time.
He returned to Kiltegan for his theological studies and was ordained with 21 classmates on Easter Sunday in 1968 in St Mary’s Church, Killamoat, Co Wicklow. The ordaining prelate was Most Rev Patrick Lennon, the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. It was the second biggest class ever ordained for the Society.
After ordination, Fr Derry was appointed to the newly created Diocese of Nakuru. He and four classmates went to work there. Except for a short period in the early 1990s when Derry was on mission promotion work in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Nakuru/Kericho was to be his home for almost 50 years. Fr Derry’s first appointment was as a teacher in Michinda Secondary School, Elburgon, after which he worked as Parish Priest in the parishes of Njoro, Molo, Elburgon, Kericho and Kituro.
Fr Derry also worked as Procurator of the Diocese of Nakuru from 1982 to 1990. In 2006, he moved to St Mary’s Pastoral Centre, Nakuru. This would be his home for the rest of his time in Kenya.
He was involved in helping schools, parishes and diocesan institutions in installing computer programmes for financial management. Fr Derry helped the Diocese of Nakuru to establish sound financial management systems and he was gifted in assisting the diocesan institutions in adopting these programmes. He was meticulous and painstaking in all these undertakings.
Fr Derry was a quiet and reserved man who went about his business with the minimum of fuss. He was totally dedicated to the people he served and was very much respected and admired by them.
He lived a very simple and uncluttered life. He was a very able administrator and with his background in science he was aware of the potential of computers long before most of his peers.
Even though his first preference was for pastoral work, he spent a considerable amount of his missionary life in administration because of the needs of the Diocese at that time. He also had a passionate commitment to justice issues. He came from a very sporting family; his late brother Tom played professional football for Aston Villa. He had a keen interest in all sports.
Derry returned to Ireland for medical treatment at the end of January 2018. While staying at the home of his brother in Ballinlough, he died suddenly.
His funeral took place in St Michael’s Church, Blackrock, Cork. Immediately after the Mass the cortège left for St Patrick’s, Kiltegan for burial.