Remembering Stephen

Monday 26th November 2012 

Today I think of all those who have touched my life in one way or another.  A good friend of mine, her Dad passed away yesterday.

Marion comes from a very musical family and I can remember times when myself and some friends were gathered around the piano in her home listening to various members of her family sing and play the piano and we would join in and have a great old session.

From what I could see at any rate, this was a happy and loving family, and when I look back to those times when I would arrive at the house and music would just seem to spontaneously happen, I reflect now on what a unifying and uplifting force music is.

Marion’s father was born during the time of the Civil War in Ireland, and so essentially, he was shaped by civil war politics.  He was a great lover of the Irish language and passed on his love for this to not only his children but some of his grandchildren who are now growing up speaking Irish as their first language.

He set up his own auctioneering business and in later years became a Fianna Fáil councillor.  I know it’s easy to be cynical these days about politics, perhaps for good reason .  I myself am a believer in the need for political satire if it helps to keep our public representatives on their toes, but I also have to qualify that by saying that I have not a clue what I’m talking about when it comes to politics in any shape or form, but Stephen, that was his name, seemed to be a man who represented what is noble about public service, judging by what I’ve heard from the grapevine, but mostly I just remember him as a very nice man who was warm and friendly to his children’s friends who were always made to feel very welcome.

I knew for some time that he was fading, and when I heard of his death yesterday, I remembered all the times I saw him in Marion’s house during our teen years.  He always seemed to have his hat on and when one day, he took this off and  I noticed the lack of hair, I can remember saying, very innocently ‘oh you’re like Kojak’.  That was the American TV series we watched back in the seventies.  He laughed heartily and at times used to slag me putting on a very upper class accent and saying ‘thank heaven’s we’re from Rathgar’, but what I remembered today with great fondness and gratitude was when I was looking for a character reference for a  job in a financial institution, I had to supply at least four references, and his glowing reference was one of them.

Stephen Riney 26th December 1922

Died 25th November 2012 RIP

“Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis”