Southern Star mourns passing of gentleman John

IT was with a real sense of sadness that members of The Southern Star learned of the death of their former colleague John Daly on March 12th.

John worked as a printer with the company for 45 years, but it was his company – the craic he generated during the tea breaks – that lives on in our memory of him.

John, who would have been 85 on his next birthday on May 12th, retired 17 years ago, but his family and his work on his farm at Coronea kept him happy and busy.

He worked at The Southern Star two years beyond the official retirement age until 2006. John always had a youthful quality about him: the kind of quality that people describe as ‘fresh’ – fresh for his age and his outlook on life.

His colleagues at The Southern Star, and the O’Regan family, extended their condolences to John’s family, his grieving wife Kathleen, his sons Tadhg, Micheál and John, and his daughters Gillian and Catherine, and formed a guard of honour after his requiem mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral last Thursday.

Seamus O’Brien who worked alongside John in the print room described John as a very outgoing person and a great GAA man – both as a player in his youth and his involvement in local team selection.

‘He was a very hard worker. He worked hard all of his life. He was a good character. And he had a great sense of humour,’ said Seamus.

In the midst of all that hard work, John wasn’t beyond playing a prank or two – and it was reciprocated in kind.

Press day and the rumble of the printing press was always an occasion in Skibbereen on Thursdays.

It was John’s job to ensure the presses ran smoothly, that the ink levels were correct, and that paper was in plentiful supply. It was a job he took seriously and did with skill.