Faces of Dunleer: Tommy Corcoran. Memories of Tommy I would like through our Parish Review to roll back the years to remember one parishioner who did so much for Dunleer parish, and as the saying goes….’never a word about him now’. The person that I am referring to is none other than the late Tommy Corcoran R.I.P. Down through the years Tommy helped fundraise for the parish by organising many concerts and dances. On one such occasion in the late ‘50’s Tommy asked me to meet him in the hall after work. When I arrived, straight from the factory, on my reliable old bicycle, I was more than a little surprised to find that Tommy was holding a press conference to introduce what became ‘The All Ireland Talent Contest’. Indeed, this was a great success and became an annual event which ran for many years. Being enthusiastic as ever, Tommy had now to gather together an organising committee. There was no shortage of willing volunteers. The talent was of a very high standard. The winner of the very first contest was Mr. David Eager. Competitors travelled from north and south and included familiar faces from that era, Olive Boyer, a sister of Brendan Boyer, travelled from Waterford to compete in our much talked about show. RTE think they’ve come up with something new with You’re a Star! Each week Tommy would book a guest artist to appear in the show, these included celebrities like, Joe Lynch, The Bachelors, Anna McGoldrick, Fr. Michael Cleary, Chris Cleary and lots more stars of that era. Following each show, the hospitable committee ensured that every artist had a good meal in the back kitchen of the Parochial Hall before setting off on their long journeys to far flung corners of the country, pre M50 days I might add. Tommy’s fundraising events had started during the 50’s when he would book the top bands of the time such as The Regal, Castleblaney, Rory Gallagher and Fintan Stanleys band from Clogherhead to play in the dance halls of those days such as the pavilion in Blackrock, Kilmoon, and Bettystown. One of the more popular of Tommy’s dances would have been the afternoon dance in the Eimear Ballroom in Dundalk where myself and my sister Angie spent many afternoons acting cashiers for Tommy. Once again Tommy saw an opportunity to raise funds and started a waltzing competition which ran over the winter months ending with a grand final. As Tommy never learned to drive, he had a chauffeur in his friend Emmet Corrigan. In the late 1970’s Tommy felt that there was talent to be nurtured in our own village and so he worked tirelessly to set up a Brass Band in Dunleer. This was not an easy task as much funds were needed to buy all the instruments required, as well as the smashing green and gold uniforms. So once again Tommy ran a variety of events to raise the much needed cash. It was so worth it though. I can still see the excitement on the children’s faces when we presented their uniforms in advance of their first performance, the St. Patricks Day parade which once marched through the streets of Dunleer. As luck would have it though, the parade was cancelled that year due to heavy snowfall. There were many more events to perform at; giving all concerned a great day out. One of these that stand out in my memory is when the band was invited to play at the ever popular Children’s Day out in Dublin when the children had the pleasure of marching down O’Connell Street. Tommy had great time for young people and was very popular amongst the many young members of the band. Ever talented, Tommy also had a great pair of hands. Whenever anything went wrong or needed to be fixed in your house, you could call on Tommy. He would arrive on his sports bicycle carrying his black bag, which he called his ‘doctor’s bag’. When ever you needed a good turn, Tommy would always be first at your door. At one stage in his life, Tommy decided to give politics a twirl and ran in the local election in the hope of obtaining a seat. Well it brought a spark to the village of Dunleer (which was a very quiet place then), with his very colourful and amusing campaign. Tommy hired a bus on polling day to transport voters to the station, complete with music and streamers. Even though Tommy loved the showbiz scene, and would often remark ‘there’s no show like the live show’, he could neither sing nor dance himself. He was however a dab hand at compering the most spectacular show. Unfortunately, the ‘80’s were not too kind to Tommy. His health began to deteriorate, but this did not bring him down. In October 1983, Tommy hired a bus and brought some of his closest friends to Knock to pray for his recovery. Jackie McGahon drove us on the day. When we got to Knock we found that it was deserted, being the winter. So after a search, Tommy eventually found a priest and came home a happy man. In May 1984, we decided to have a grand Finale Concert for Tommy. Fr. Michael Cleary, who had become a good friend of Tommy’s was the main star. That night, Tommy dressed up in his white sports coat and was proud to compere his tribute show. It was a great success and very emotional for many of us. On the afternoon of Friday 15th September 1984 Tony Torris called to my house to let me know that Tommy was very ill and very kindly brought me to visit him. That evening at about 7 o’clock we bid a sad and fond farewell to a loyal and true friend of our community Tommy Corcoran. Go dtuga Dia grasta. Da anam Ni bheidh a leithead aris ann.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 06:23:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015