Obituary - Mr Joe Gormley Beaugh, Brownsgrove, Tuam

JOE Gormley, late of Beaugh, Brownsgrove, Tuam, was widely known and respected as a farmer and agricultural contractor in the North Galway area. He passed away peacefully on March 9 at ÃÂrus Mhuire Nursing Home, Dublin Road, Tuam, where he had been a patient for a number of years. Although not entirely unexpected, his death at 97 years of age gave rise to profound loss and sadness, not only among his immediate family but to the many people who knew and respected him over his long life. Attendance at his removal from the Burns Funeral Parlour on the evening of March 10 and at his Requiem Mass in Cortoon Church on the following morning was ample testimony of the high regard in which he was held. Joe was widely acknowledged for his commitment to the community and for his participation in local sports organisations and national farming associations. A staunch supporter of the GAA, he celebrated the many successes of Cortoon and Galway County football and hurling teams during his lifetime. He played a leading role in organising the Gallagh Group Water Scheme which brought piped water for the first time to Cortoon parish and beyond. He acted as trustee of the group right up to the time of his death. As a member of the Legion of Mary, in later years, he participated in church activities in Cortoon, an involvement which he continued while in ÃÂrus Mhuire. Despite diminished mobility, he continued to climb the altar steps to read the Lesson at weekly Mass. Tuam Wheelchair Association had a special place in his life â€â€œ he went to the centre most days to play Bingo with the residents. While he was still able, he participated in fund raising for the group. His proudest moment was when, at 94 years of age, he accompanied them on their pilgrimage to Lourdes. Born on March 3, 1913, Joe's lifetime witnessed the most significant events in Ireland during the 20th century - the 1916 Rising, National Independence, economic and social development of the country and the Emergency of World War Two, to mention but a few. Second in a family of six, he grew up in Beaugh where he was dedicated to his profession as a farmer.  In this day and age, it is difficult to visualise the phenomenal evolution in Irish farming that has evolved since Joe's early days, from backbreaking manual cultivation of the twenties to sophisticated high tech methods of modern times. From the era of spade and scythe, in the course of 50 years, Joe progressed step by step to ploughing with a team of horses, operating a mobile threshing unit, mechanical sowing and reaping, tractor powered cultivation, mechanised harvesting of sugar beet and potatoes and operating a combine grain harvester. In the same space of time, milk production and processing had advanced from milking cows by hand  and churning in the kitchen to automated milking and manufacture of butter, cheese and associated dairy products in specialised co-op premises. Joe's was a familiar face at fairs and markets in Tuam and surrounding centres where he enjoyed the cut and thrust of bargaining, haggled with buyers and sellers and refuted their disparaging comments as good as the best. Joe was renowned for his ability to relate stories about himself, his experiences and his many close encounters with serious injury and dire destruction!  His often repeated tale of his accidental proximity to the Gallagh ambush in 1920 is legendary when at seven years of age he was driving cows in an adjoining field as gunfire broke out.  Another story told of his presence at the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932 when he and his pals were thrown out of the Mansion House due to their failure to properly dance traditional steps! Following his retirement from active farming, with a car and trailer attachment, he delivered manufactured items of equipment on behalf of his son TJ over distances of a hundred miles around the country. He particularly liked the responsibility of making deliveries to hitherto unfamiliar locations â€â€œ the farther away the better! He had a penchant for meeting important people, speaking with them and, if circumstances permitted, being photographed with them. Publication of his picture in the company of some VIP made his day. As a proud family man, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Joe's pleasant nature endeared him to all and he never failed to extol their achievements. He was predeceased by his parents James and Ellen, his wife Mary, brothers Frank, Fr Paddy, Fr Michael, and sister Chriss Hughes. Sympathy is extended to sons TJ and Vincent, daughters Marie Coen, Annette O'Neill, Rosie Flatley, Bernie Conneely, their spouses, children, grandchildren and extended families, and to his remaining brother Jarlath. Ar Dheis Dé go raibh sé.