Michaela Harte, the daughter of Mickey Harte, the Tyrone manager, was married 11 days ago.

She was on honeymoon in Mauritius when she was murdered in her room by an intruder.

An appalling tragedy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caoineadh (le Máire Mhac an tSaoi)

Glór goil ar an ngaoith

Is brat síne liathaigh spéartha,

Ise dob áille fág ina luí

Ina caoluaigh chúng ina haonar.

Tiocfaidh an leoithne bhog aniar

Is an duilliúr úr ar lomaghéagam

Líonfaidh ré us éireoidh grian,

Ina gcúrsa síor triallfaidh réalta;

Is as an gcré tá os a cionn,

As a hucht geal, as a caomhchorp,

Trí aoibh an lae is deora ón ndrúcht

Trí fhód aníos fásfaidh féara –

Ach choíche ní cúmfar ceol ceart,

Feasta, ná caoinvéarsa;

Cailleann anois an croí a neart,

Is an mheabhair ghlic, cailleann a héifeacht.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lament (trans., Patrick Crotty)

The sound of tears on the wind

And storm-clouds darkening the skies;

She, the loveliest, let her lie

In her little narrow grave on her own.

From the west the gentle breeze will come

And the fresh leaf on boughs now bare,

Moon will wax and sun will rise,

And the stars resume their courses;

And from the clay above her,

From her bright breast, from her dear corpse,

Through the day’s beauty and the dew’s tears,

Up through the sod will grow grasses –

But never will appropriate music be composed,

No never, nor delicate verses;

Now the heart loses its strength,

And the quick mind, it loses its usefulness.

Rest in Peace Michaela.

Gordon Waller (June 4th 1945 – July 17th 2009) was one half of the 1960′s duo Peter and Gordon.

Their biggest hit was ‘A World Without Love’.

Peter and Gordon disbanded in 1968.

Waller died of a heart attack.

In the video Gordon Waller is on the left.

Rest In Peace Gordon.

Farrah Fawcett, one of the original Charlie’s Angels succumbed to her cancer today.

She had been battling it for the last three years.

She had an amazing smile.

I hope she becomes a true angel in heaven.

Rest in Peace Farrah.

Sometime when you’re feeling important,
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom,
Sometimes when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room.
Sometimes when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to your wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you’ll find that in no time
It looks quiet the same as before.
The moral in this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself, but remember—
There’s no indispensable man.

This was the favourite poem of Jim Reeves.

Its meaning has significance to me at this moment in time.

I’m sorry for your loss Ramana.

May she rest in peace.

Such a tragic and untimely loss.

A simple accident with serious consequences.

Actress Natasha Richardson has died, her husband Liam Neeson’s publicist said tonight.

The 45-year-old star died at a hospital in New York after suffering a serious head injury in a fall at a Canadian ski resort.

Alan Nierob, Neeson’s publicist, said: “Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha.

“They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”

Richardson’s husband, actor Neeson, 56, mother, Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, 72, and two sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, visited her after she was flown from Canada to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York on Tuesday.

The accident happened while the actress was taking a supervised skiing lesson on a beginners run at the luxury Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec on Monday.

She showed no visible sign of injury after the fall but was brought to the bottom of the slope by a ski patrol and told she should see a doctor.

About an hour later she started feeling unwell and was taken to hospital.

Neeson flew from the set of his new film in Toronto to be with his wife as soon as he heard news of the accident.

Richardson was flown from Canada to New York, where she and her family live, for further treatment, but her death was announced shortly before midnight.

Part of one of Britain’s great theatrical dynasties, Richardson was the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson.

She was also the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, the sister of actress Joely Richardson, and the niece of Lynn Redgrave.

Born in May 1963, Richardson was educated at St Paul’s Girls School in London and trained at the city’s Central School of Speech and Drama.

She married ‘Schindler’s List’ star Neeson in 1994 after the pair met on the set of the film ‘Nell’
.
Her extensive experience on stage included a number of Shakespearean roles including Ophelia in ‘Hamlet’ and Helena in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

In 1986 she won the London Drama Critics’ most promising newcomer award for her performance as Nina in ‘The Seagull’ alongside her mother.

She also won a Tony award for best actress in a musical for her performance as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes’ production of ‘Cabaret’ on Broadway in 1998.

May she rest in peace.

Hugh Leonard, playright and journalist, died today at the age 83.

He wrote a play called ‘Da‘ which was performed 697 times on Broadway.

I met the man many years ago at a Murder Mystery Weekend in The Park Hotel, Kenmare, Co. Kerry.

He had penned the weekend of murder, mystery and intrigue.

I have a photo of myself and himself at the event.

A rare claim to fame.

I liked the man.

Rest In Peace Hugh.

It is with deep shock and sadness that I learn of the death of Tony Gregory T.D.

He died today at the age of 61 after a long illness.

He was a champion of inner city Dublin. He was a bit of a rebel. He rarely (if ever) wore a tie in his capacity as a T.D.

Gregory was a secondary school teacher before he became involved in politics.

He did a deal with Charlie Haughey in 1982 pledging his support for the Government in return for a cash injection into his deprived inner city Dublin constituency.

He was also an ardent campaigner on local issues including drugs and social justice.

He never held a cabinet position but this didn’t hold him back in his efforts to improve the living conditions for the people of his area.

A good politician. A true Irishman.

Rest In Peace Tony. You won’t be forgotten.

Another stalwart of ‘Last of the Summer Wine‘ has died. Kathy Staff who played the infamous Nora Batty died on Saturday the 13th at the age of 80.

She played the character from the very first episode in 1973 until her last appearance in August.

The loss of Bill Owen (Compo) in 1999 was a big blow to the programme. To me, his chasing of Nora, and her chasing of him with a broom, brush, mop or whatever was at hand was the heart of the programme.

I could watch ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ all day. It is pure fun. Full of great characters who are now, sadly, leaving us.

I wrote about the death of Brian Wilde previously. With Kathy Staff passing away the old guard is slowly dwindling.

The only original main character still alive is Peter Sallis, a legend in his own right. A man to be honoured for his voice over work as much as anything else.

Peter Sallis has leant his voice to Rat in ‘The Wind and the Willows‘ and Wallace of  ‘Wallace and Gromit‘  fame.

Kathy Staff also appeared in ‘Coronation Street‘, ‘Crossroads‘ and ‘Open All Hours‘.

Her Times Online obituary is here.

Rest In Peace Kathy. ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ will not be the same about you.

Thanks for the laughs!

A few weeks ago my friend and I were driving around Sneem looking at property for sale and we came across a 1970′s style house up for sale near Bunnow Harbour. The house was called Kinlough House.

We decided to take a look around. The first thing that struck me was the fact that it had the 70′s written all over it … timber cladding, a 70′s style conservatory, a garden that oozed years of love and dedication, crazy paving, seating areas and a feature pond.

Looking in the windows it was obvious to see that the place had been cleared out. One particular room had personal possessions piled on a bed awaiting their new home/disposal.

We deduced there and then that the previous owner had probably died and that the executors of his/her will were disposing of the property.

Curiosity got the better of me so I did a little bit of research the first chance I got on Kinlough House.

I made an interesting discovery …. the house had been the summer residence of a Mr. Justice Dermot Kinlen, Inspector of Prisons. He had died on Wednesday the 18th of July 2007 in the very house we had looked at. It appears he had entertained a group of Chinese guests, had retired to his bed and had died in his sleep.

It turns out that Justice Kinlen championed the cause of prisoners while Inspector of Prisons.

His primary residence in Dublin, Wentworth, is still for sale with an asking price of seven million euro.

From the Irish Independent (Saturday 21st of July 2007):

The funeral of the Inspector of Prisons, former High Court judge Dermot Kinlen, is taking place today.

He died suddenly on Wednesday in Kerry at the age of 77.

Mr Justice Kinlen had a distinguished legal career as a barrister and a High Court judge.

As Inspector of Prisons, a post he took up in 2002, he worked tirelessly to highlight the poor conditions faced by prisoners both in Ireland and aboard.

Tributes have been pouring in from political leaders along with those who worked alongside him.

He is survived by his sister Aideen, brother Kevin, sister-in-law Deirdre and nieces and nephews.

His funeral mass will be held at Donnybrook Church at 10am today with burial afterwards in Deans Grange cemetery.

Irish Penal Reform Trust obituary is here.

Chinese Ambassador extended his condolences.

It was nostalgic to walk around the residence of someone who had obviously lavished so much pride on it … his ‘hideaway from Dublin’.

It was a privilege to learn about this man and to honour his achievements on my blog.

I hope the person who purchases your beloved Kinlough will cherish it as much as you did.

It’s up for sale at a pre-recession price of €310k or thereabouts …. too rich for my blood I’m afraid.

Rest In Peace Justice Kinlen.