Adventurous life of Seán recalled

Sadness and regret are felt throughout the community following the death on last Wednesday, April 14th, of retired Nenagh draper John David (Seán) Flannery who with his wife Marie were proprietors of the family run former JD Flannery store in Pearse Street, Nenagh, for close to half a century.

Born in Kenyon Street in Nenagh in 1924, Seán was the third eldest of the eleven children of JD and Kathleen Flannery, an established business couple in the town who at the time when Séan came into the world were rebuilding their store at numbers 7 and 8 Castle Street (now Pearse Street) after it was burned by the Black and Tans during the War of Independence in November 1920.

That atrocity occurred only a few weeks after Seán’s parents were married, resulting in the destruction of thousands of pound worth of stock and forcing the family to relocate part of the business to a temporary location at 19 Kenyon Street while rebuilding the premises in Castle Street.

It was little wonder then that Seán’s rearing by parents of such tremendous tenacity equipped him with superb survival instincts. His advice to his own children was always to look danger and adversity in the eye.

At his Requiem Mass in Saint Mary of the Rosary Church last Saturday Seán’s son, David, recalled that his father, like his two older brothers, had “a laid back attitude” to study. The trio were asked to leave three separate boarding schools - Saint Flannan’s in Ennis, Cistercians in Roscrea and another in Kildare - before finally taking up the role of running a farm that their father had purchased in Kildare in the 1930s.

It was on that farm and in the surrounding countryside that Seán became immersed in “the school of life”, where he found a love of nature that fired his curiosity and equipped him with life skills that included wit, courage in the face of adversity and “a daredevil love of danger”.

Despite the poor economic climate in the feldgling Irish Free State - exacerbated by the onset of the Second World War - the three boys enjoyed a life of adventure while running the farm. They played rugby with North Kildare, hunted with the Kildare and Meath packs, dabbled in horse training, enjoyed a few runners in Punchestown and even engaged in a bit of poaching on neighbouring estates.

MOTORCYCLE RACING

Seán’s daredevil qualities were very much evident when he was inspired to take up motorcycle racing after seeing the former Irish Grand Prix winner Stanely Woods taking part in a race in Kildare. In 1948, at the age of 24, Seán and a friend took off on motorcycles around Europe to see for themselves the impact that the war had on the continent.

They toured Paris and travelled down through France, crossing over the Pyrenees and into Spain and on to Seville before turning for home again.

The adverture provided Séan, a superb raconteur, with a lifetime of yarns which he recounted many times over the years to entertain family and friends. Ultimately, Seán’s father sold the Co Kildare farm and Seán moved to Dublin to serve his time training to become a draper. Some years later while working in Arnotts his eyes fixed on a tall and extremely elegant red haired staff member named Marie Tallon who at the time was working in the model gown department.

Marie, a sister of the late renowned Irish architect Ronnie Tallon, subsequently moved somewhat closer to Nenagh when she was hired to help set up the new duty free shop at Shannon Airport. Seeing his opportunity, Seán asked her out to a hunt ball, love blossomed, and they eventually married in 1954.

Taking over Seán’s parents’ business in Pearse Street, they moved from Dublin to Nenagh in 1956, building a new home in Gortlandroe where they raised their seven children, a boy and six daughters. Seán and Marie worked alongside eachother serving the people of Nenagh in their mens’ and womens’ fashion store for a total of 46 years, building on a business that had always been reputed for quality, courtesy and loyal service.

SAILING AND HORSES

Back in Nenagh Seán continued to pursue his love of horses, serving as Treasurer of the North Tipperary Foxhounds for four decades.

He also became a member of Lough Derg Yacht Club and developed a passion for sailing, forging many great friendships through the sport as well as sparking an interest in boat building that continued into old age.

A lucky man that lived a rich an active life well into his 90s, Seán as his son David said, was “blessed among women” with his six wonderful daughters and a loving wife to dote on him.

The readings and singing at Seán’s Requiem Mass before his internment in Monsea Cemetery in Ballycommon were full of echoes of the long and active life that he was privileged to enjoy.

David’s tribute to his father ended with the recitation of the poem ‘Requiem’ by Robert Louis Stephenson:

“Under the wide and starry sky

Dig the grave and let me lie

Glad that I live and gladly die

And I laid me down with a will

This be the verse you grave for me:

Here he lies were he longs to be

Home is the sailor, home from the sea

And the hunter home from the hill.”

John David (Seán) Flannery, ‘Rosamile’, Gortlandroe, Nenagh and died peacefully, at home, surrounded by his darling wife of almost 67 years, Marie, and loving family Gillian, Pauline, Derval, Gemma, Miriam, Anne and David.

Seán was was predeceased by his brothers Kevin, Jimmy, Donal and infant brother Tim and his sisters Pauline and Imelda.

He will be sadly missed by his loving family, siblings Rev Fr Pascal, Nancy, Laurence and Clare, sons-in-law Pat O'Connor, Jim Ryan, Aidan Kennedy, Sean McSherry and Declan Mulcahy, daughter-in-law Giulia Vallone, all his loving 16 grandchildren, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.