Rory’s death evokes huge sadness

News of the death of Rory O’Farrell (46) of Stoneyhigh, Gortlandroe, Nenagh, on October 22 last, was met with huge sadness in the town and beyond.

Born in April, 1978, Rory was the youngest of six children to Catherine (Birdie) and his late father, Michael.  Raised in Ballyporeen, in the south of the county, Rory remained a proud ‘Bally’ man throughout his life.

As the youngest, Rory was spoiled and taunted in equal measure by his siblings, Ann Marie, Pat, Carmel, Conor and Mike, with whom he shared many funny, interesting and memorable times.

From breaking windows to falling into a slurry pit, Rory was always up to mischief, but his family were always there for him, and he knew it. Family meant everything to Rory, and he carried this through into his own marriage and family in subsequent years.

Under the watchful eye of his school-teacher mam, Rory attended national school in Ballyporeen and Scoil na nÓg, Cork City and secondary school at St Colman’s College, Fermoy. After engaging in a number of third level courses, none of which were much to his liking, Rory soon found his way and began his career with Permanent TSB at their Nenagh branch in June 2000.  Under the guidance and friendship of branch manager, George McGarth, and his many colleagues in the banking world, Rory thrived in his work and quickly rose up through the ranks, becoming territory manager in Limerick in recent years.

STRONG WORK ETHIC

Mixing a strong work ethic and a drive and determination to succeed with a down-to-earth personality and a genuine interest in others, Rory oversaw significant growth for PTSB in his area up to his unexpected cancer diagnosis in October 2023.

Rory was extremely popular with his PTSB colleagues who were very supportive of him during his illness. It is a mark of great respect to Rory and his family that PTSB closed their branches in Nenagh and Limerick on the day of his funeral, something they didn’t even do during the Covid pandemic.

While first working in Nenagh, a town which he later grew to love, Rory rented a room in Ciamaltha Meadows, which he was required to vacate in 2002 when he transferred to PTSB’s Thurles branch. Little did he know that his room in Nenagh would be taken by secondary teacher, Karen O’Reilly, from County Cavan, whom he would later marry. As both Karen and Rory would describe it, this was fate. When Rory came back to visit his former housemates, and met Karen, there was only ever going to be one outcome. Karen and Rory were married in 2008 and their four sons soon followed, Senan in 2009, Rían in 2013 and twins, Kevin and Michael in 2017. “My boys”, as Rory fondly called them, were his world and from the moment Senan was born, right up to Rory’s untimely death, Karen and his boys were his sole focus, and the source of his brave fight right through his illness, and the many difficult treatments he faced up to his passing in the warm embrace and care of Milford Hospice.

A WINNING PERSONALITY

Rory was a tall, strong man with a hearty laugh and a winning personality. He had many friends. He enjoyed spending time with his extended family, harbouring huge respect and affection for his in-laws, particularly Karen’s father, Kevin. He liked nothing more than a good chat, had a keen interest in political affairs, loved the Irish language and European history, and had a weirdly eclectic taste in music. During his illness, he religiously read the Nenagh Guardian and daily national newspapers from cover to cover, preferring these to the toxicity of social media. One of his last outings was to see Diarmuid Ferriter at the Nenagh Arts Centre, but it was the few pints in Rocky’s after that he enjoyed the most, sharing stories about his boys’ latest escapades and commenting on political ongoings.

LOVER OF SPORT

He loved sports and was on the sideline of every football, hurling, rugby and soccer match played by his boys. A familiar face in the grounds of Nenagh Éire Óg, he coached football and hurling and helped mentor his sons’ teams. Rory’s passion for GAA often caused him to be vocal from the sidelines but, as a former footballer himself for his faithful ‘Bally’, what happened on the field stayed on the field. He was a defender through and through and a firm believer in offering support and encouragement. He would regularly and subtly praise the quietest child on the pitch, acknowledge a pass or a strike of the ball, that would sometimes be missed by others. Rory’s main passion was Gaelic football, and he tried hard to embed that passion into Nenagh Éire Óg’s youngest players. He coached North Tipp development football and was hugely involved in organising the Michael Hogan Festival of Football.  He was extremely proud, in particular, of the club’s under 15s Féile achievements, and this pride was reciprocated by Nenagh Éire Óg’s juvenile players who accompanied him on his final journey from MacDonagh Park to St Mary of the Rosary for his Funeral Mass.

Rory packed so much into his too short life. He was immensely proud of his and Karen’s home in Gortlandroe that they both worked hard to obtain. He was at his happiest in his work pants, tending the garden, fixing fences, cutting hedges or doing jobs around the house.  Learning from their dad, his boys would often work in the garden with him, taking a break sometimes to jump on their trampoline or kick a ball into the goals.

DEVOTED HUSBAND

A devoted husband, Rory genuinely loved spending time with Karen at home and on their occasional nights out or away. While he bore his illness well, it was not lost on him that it would later fall on Karen to pick up the pieces. In this, he would have been hugely comforted by Karen’s brave words at his Funeral Mass, when she thanked him, urging him to rest easy, “knowing that your job is done…you have shown me and your sons what it means to have strength, courage, determination and, above all, love.”

Rest in peace, Rory, agus solas i measc na naomh duit.

Rory O’Farrell, April 18, 1978

to October 22, 2024