Care to buy a massive bottle of whiskey? Big auction in Toome'

Toomevara publican John Cromer used to say he would mark his retirement by finally opening a massive bottle of whiskey he had kept for decades in his highly popular pub on the main street in the village.

John bought the giant 4.5 litre bottle in Italy about 20 years ago and used to say, that if he died before quitting the pub trade, he would be more than happy if someone else had the good of all that whiskey.

“It used to be a running joke about Dad retiring, but we all knew he was never going to retire,” recalls his daughter Louise.

Following a six-year battle with cancer John (74) got his last wishes when, thanks to the North Tipperary Hospice, he died in his own home on September 23 surrounded by his loving family.

Now John’s big bottle of whiskey is one of the top items up for auction when his pub, the Tipperary Inn, stages a night in aid of the hospice on Saturday, November 25.

Funds will also be raised on the night for the Suimhneas Cancer Support Centre in Nenagh in what promises to be a great night of entertainment that will feature a pub quiz, auction and raffle.

A man with a huge positive outlook, John battled cancer for six years. And despite his serious illness and the awful impacts of chemotherapy sessions, he still managed to work and greet his customers with a smile right up to just before the time of his death.

“We want to make people aware of the fantastic work the people in the hospice do,” says Louise. “We just couldn’t look after Dad ourselves near the end because he needed so much care.

“We were honoured that we could bring him home in the last few days. Without the hospice we could not have done that.”

When The Guardian spoke to Louise last week she revealed that bids on her father’s bottle of whiskey had already started and the lead bid now stood at €1,500.

Louise, along with her three brothers, Maurice, Simon, Jonathan and mother, Liz, hope the pub will be as packed on November 25 as it was on the evening when John’s remains reposed in the premises. On that day approximately 5,000 people came through the doors to pay their last respects to a great community man.

The Comer family want to generate as much cash as they possibly can for the hospice in return for the wonderful care given to John.

suaimhneas

The Suaimhneas centre, too, is very close to their hearts due to the great support it has offered one of John’s closest friends who is now himself battling terminal cancer.

Maurice Shanahan (39), who also lives in Toomevara with his wife Nessa and four-year-old son Luke, was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer ten months ago.

Nessa and Maurice, a Wexford native, met in Australia and came home to live in her native Toomevara only two years ago after a decade away.

Just a few months back in Ireland, the bottom fell out of their world when Maurice was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Nessa says the support she and Maurice have received from Suimhneas has been tremendous and she and Maurice want to give something back.

“We have got wonderful support from the centre where Maurice has attended art classes as well as mindfulness, yoga and breath work sessions,” says Nessa.

“So many people just don’t seem to be aware of the great services they offer to families on a cancer journey.

“There’s everything on offer from complementary therapies such reflexology and massage.

“The support Maurice and I have received from the volunteers there has been great. The staff are phenomenal.

“Maurice had to give up work due to his illness and Suimhneas is so important for him. The people in there have taken him under their wing. They are stone mad about him. It’s like a family.”

Nessa says services are not just offered to the person with cancer. She herself has benefited greatly from counselling offered and is so impressed that she has referred others like her who are on a cancer journey with a loved one.

Maurice used to work in construction and his passions are diving, free diving and rugby.

A non-smoker, he loves hiking and the outdoor life.

His only symptom prior to his diagnosis last Christmas was a persistent cough. Since then, he has undergone immunotherapy sessions and five sessions of chemotherapy.

His is a very rare form of lung cancer and sadly it is inoperable because of the position of the tumour close his heart. There is no trial drug in the world yet invented to help fight the disease, but conventional treatments have helped shrink the tumour, for now.

GREAT FRIENDS

Nessa, a holistic practitioner and a life coach, says the forthcoming night is so appropriate because the funds generated will go to two organisations from which two great friends have benefited. “Maurice and John were very close. John was a huge support to many people. He was a wonderful community man, and he knew everybody who was unwell and he helped everybody. John was someone whom Maurice looked up to and who was a great guidance to him in his life.

“We’d go into his pub on a Sunday for food and John would always be at the bar with Maurice. They’d be whispering to eachother, sharing about their treatment.

“John would always say to Maurice: ‘keep fighting no matter what. You have to stay going’. John was a real support in Maurice’s life.”

Louise and Nessa would be delighted if companies or individuals would offer sponsorship.

They are hoping everyone in the parish and beyond will attend on the night.