Sad passing of popular garda sergeant

Last Monday marked a poignant milestone in the memory of retired garda sergeant Christy Geraghty of Nenagh, who sadly passed away last month having almost reached the age of 83. 
May 18th was Christy's birthday. It was also the date when he married his beloved wife Anne, and it was the date of his retirement from An Garda Síochána after 34 years of distinguished service, the last 27 of which he spent in the Nenagh district.
A proud Galway man who made Nenagh his home, Christy was born and reared in Abbeyknockmoy, Tuam, in 1937. He had two brothers - one of whom died of Leukaemia at the age of 13 - and three sisters.
Christy joined the guards in 1960. He completed his six months of training at the Phoenix Park and spent his first seven years with the force stationed at Kildare town. 
While there, he met Anne (née Doyle) of Myshall, Co Carlow, who was working as a nurse at the Curragh Camp. They married on May 18th 1966. 
The following year Christy was promoted to sergeant and transferred to Dolla Garda Station. He and Anne moved in to the quarters in Dolla, where they lived until the late '70s and started their family of four sons and a daughter.
Dolla was a busy sub district at the time with lots of traffic on the roads serving the mines. There were also many explosives works to supervise in the operations of Magcobar and Mogul.
In 1979 the Geraghtys built a new home at Bawn on the outskirts of Nenagh. Christy took up duty at Nenagh Garda Station in 1984, replacing the retiring Sgt Jim Bourke.
He served in Nenagh for the next 10 years, during which he was a very popular garda, a man known for his friendly counsel and banter about everyday life. Christy often said that Nenagh was good to him and he was very happy here. He took an active interest in the local community and served on the board of Nenagh Credit Union for several years.
He never lost sight of his Galway roots, however, and he remained a passionate Tribesman throughout the big Tipp-Galway GAA clashes of the '80s. 
Christy also had a great passion for gardening and was formally rewarded for his maintenance of Dolla Garda Station in 1978 and again the following year with the Bord Fáilte National Gardening Competition Garda Divisional Award. 
Among his other interests were crosswords and keeping up to speed with current affairs. He bought the Irish Independent every day and rarely missed the RTÉ news or Primetime. He was also a lifelong pioneer.
Testament to Christy's popularity were the tributes he received on retiring from An Garda Síochána in May 1994. The much-respected late Judge Michael Reilly spoke highly of Sgt Geraghty at a sitting of Nenagh District Court, at which he described the retiring officer as a stalwart member of the gardaí in Nenagh, one who typified everything that was good and nice about the gardaí. Judge Reilly said Dolla had benefitted from Christy's Tidy Towns work, and he was glad to note that two of Christy's sons had followed in their father’s footsteps (Matt is now a sergeant at the Garda College in Templemore while Liam is a superintendent at the Garda Press Office in Dublin).
State Solicitor PF Treacy spoke of the retiring sergeant as the essence of courtesy and efficiency, a man held in great affection by the people of the area, while the late Supt Pat Moriarty referred to Sgt Geraghty as a great personal friend and a legend in his own lifetime, as far as the gardaí were concerned. 
At a meeting of Nenagh Urban District Council, the late Cllr Jack White said Sgt Geraghty was respected by all in the town and mentioned his efficiency with directing traffic during local funerals. The late Cllr Joseph O'Connor recalled the retiree's courteous help to those who sought the support of the gardaí. Cllr Tom Ryan referred to Nenagh's outgoing sergeant as an old-style policeman, a first-class garda who never had a starting or finishing time but always seemed to be there when needed.
Further glowing tributes were paid at Christy's very well-attended retirement function at the old Nenagh Lodge Hotel.
Christy saw out his days at Ashlawn House Nursing Home, where he received great care from the management and staff. Sadly, he fell ill with Covid-19 and passed away at University Hospital Limerick on April 9th.
Predeceased by his parents Michael and Margaret and brother John Joe, Christy was the dearly loved husband of Anne and beloved father to Michéal, Frank, Matt, Liam and Mairead (O’Brien). His passing is deeply regretted by his wife, family, daughters-in-law Amanda, Eileen and Sandra, son-in-law Damien, grandchildren Ryan, Aidan, Christopher, Colin, Karol, Amy, Callum, Rónán, Molly and James; his brother Brendan, sisters Maureen, Annette and Dolores; his sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and his many friends.
Christy was buried at Abbeyknockmoy Cemetery in his native Co Galway. His family would have liked to have held a Mass for him in Nenagh but, unfortunately, this was not possible due to the Covid-19 restrictions. They hope to hold a Mass here for Christy at some stage in the future. 
His wife Anne and family would like to express their sincere thanks to the staff at Ashlawn and Ward 2D at University Hospital Limerick for the kindness shown to Christy during the course of his recent illness. They would also like to thank the many people who have expressed messages of condolence in the weeks since Christy's death.
May he rest in peace.