Image source: Rip.ie
WARM tributes have been paid to popular Killarney man Michael O’Doherty who was laid to rest this Thursday following Requiem Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral.
Michael, who passed away on Tuesday, was well known in the town and is fondly remembered for his soft-spoken and gentle ways and, in recent days, the description most used to remember him was that he was a thorough gentleman.
The celebrant at the Requiem Mass, Fr Jim Lenihan, said Michael enjoyed a wonderful life and he had such a positive influence on so many people.
He said in a world of influencers and social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, it was his great faith and devotion to Jesus that influenced Michael throughout his life and he was a regular at daily Mass in the cathedral.
He worked in Hilliard’s shoe and boot factory for 37 years and, after that, he was a popular caddie at Killarney Golf Club where he loved meeting people and they really enjoyed his company, his warm personality and his local knowledge.
Fr Lenihan said Michael took great pride in his work and, in everything he turned his hand to, he was a real perfectionist.
A talented sportsman in his day, he had a lifelong love for GAA and basketball and he also kept a keen eye on what was happening in the world of greyhound racing.
Fr Lenihan, who was joined on the altar by Fr Paddy O’Donoghue, said Michael was a wonderful provider for his family and he adored his wife, Kathleen, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“He took great joy and pleasure from watching his children becoming the best version of themselves that they could be,” Fr Lenihan said.
Michael is also remembered as a great and obliging neighbour and a kind-hearted man who always had a warm and cheerful greeting for those he encountered on his daily trips to the shops with Kathleen by his side.
Predeceased by baby Kevin, his brothers Donal, John and Brendan and his sister Kathleen, Michael is survived by his wife, Kathleen, children Marie, Michael, Francis, Patrick, Suzanne and Raymond, son-in-law Pat Moynihan, daughters-in-law Maureen, Patricia and Lisa, his grandchildren Karen, Mark, Elaine, Alan, Kevin, Keith, Carla, Robyn and Elouise and great grandchildren. He is further survived by his brothers Joe (Killaney) and Con (USA), sisters Delia and Elsie, sisters-in-law Margaret, Patricia and Brenda, brothers-in-law John and Sonny, nieces and nephews, relatives, neighbours.
He has been laid to rest in the Killarney Burial Ground, Knockeenduve.
