The county of Carlow bid farewell to one of its true sporting gentlemen recently with the passing of Leighlinbridge man John Phelan. A native of Gowran in Kilkenny, John played hurling in the black and amber jersey at minor level before moving to Lower Seskin where he made his beloved home along with his loving wife, Peg. It was here in a quaint farmhouse on their lush, rolling lands that John and Peg reared a wonderful family and became an integral part of the community over the years. John played both hurling and football for the Leighlinbridge club, regularly lining out at full-back on the football team in the late 1940s. He played in three county hurling finals with his adopted club with the only victory coming in 1956. His teammates recall John as being a: "Solid man at full back for the football team and a talented hurler. He was a very pleasant man and a good sound player." It was these attributes that John carried into every aspect of his life. Peg recalls a man who loved living, loved sport and loved his farming. For 14 years John served on the Avonmore advisory committee and although he may have been considered a quiet man, when he spoke, people listened. He was a founder member of the IFA and was always heard to say that "farmers should support their organisation", and no matter what happened in life the Gowran native was quick to point out that "you stick at it because there's ups and downs with everything in life". As a community man, John had great loyalty to his area and always believed in supporting local endeavours when possible. His neighbours were hugely important to him as is now reflected in the deep sense of loss and mourning in the area. He farmed extensively and successfully over his lifetime despite massive changes in the industry. He was a man who loved nothing more than to get outside and farm. He loved nature and his family and possessed a wry sense of humour, loving nothing better than a good joke or yarn. A man of boundless energy, that was never more evident than when he taught his children and grandchildren the skills of hurling on the immaculately kept lawn or the fields in front of his home in Lower Seskin. John was a learned man who read extensively. He feasted upon knowledge and tried to impart this to his children as they were growing up by reading to them from books he had chosen in the evenings after a hard day's work. From Shakespeare to subsidies or Hardy to hurling, one thing that John Phelan was never short of was conversation. His gentle presence will be felt forever on the wafting scents of the blossoms in his garden and on the soft breeze that blows about his well-worked land. John is mourned by his loving wife, Peg, his six daughters, Monica, Mairead, Marie, Annette, Sara and Jacqueline and son, John-Daniel. He is also deeply missed by his six sons-in-law, Jack, Liam, Tom, Brian Tom and Mark and daughter-in-law, Susan, his beloved grandchildren, niece and nephew, relatives and friends. Ar dheis De go raibh a ainm. Courtesy of the Carlow Nationalist 13 June 2008 Tweet

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