Francis, Mattie
October 22, 2009One of the most traumatic encounters a small boy can have, apart from meeting the dentist for the first time, is the first rendezvous with the barber.
Over the few weeks since Mattie Francis passed away on September 13, there have been many reminiscences exchanged about haircuts in the good old days.
Only those of a certain age remember Bob Holmes, who ran a barber shop on the Ballygaddy road opposite where Glynn's Home Value now stands.
Bob was a barber of the old, short back side's school, and he valued neatness. When he took on young Mattie Francis from Dublin Road as an apprentice, he must have felt he had found the ideal, because Mattie was always meticulous in his appearance.
Mattie was born in March, 1934, and started working with Bob in 1948. He must have been in his early 20s when he first hoisted me onto the wooden bench that was laid across the arms of the barber's chair for junior clients.
I know because I was nervous, because my mother had to hover reassuringly as Mattie's scissors skipped close (dangerously close, in my fevered young imagination) to my ear. But he must have gained my confidence, because he cut my hair for many years afterwards, both in Ballygaddy road and in his own salon on Dublin road. There he had set up shop in the house in which he was born, occupied by his late sister Nellie and her husband Tony Brennan.
In turn Mattie took on an apprentice, Gerry Lardner from Ballinderry, and when Gerry won his spurs, mine was one of the heads he took over from Mattie.
Gerry, who died prematurely some 13 years ago, in his turn went out on his own, and I went with him as young men do.
But I never lost touch with Mattie, and we exchanged greetings several times each week as I passed by on my way to work in The Tuam Herald office, across the road from his salon.
He was a consistently pleasant, cheerful man, and for him his workplace was much more than just the place where he made his living. He loved going to work, putting out the traditional red and white striped pole, greeting his customers and having the craic with them.
He forged many a lifelong friendship there, and he was very proud that over six decades after he started in the trade, his first customer, James Meehan of The Square, Dunmore, was still coming in to him.
His family learned long ago that "Mattie's" was an institution and that they were never going to get him to retire. It took them years to get him to reduce his opening hours. They know that Mattie loved his work because his customers meant so much to him, and they are grateful to them all for their support.
A side of Mattie Francis that was less well known was his involvement in charity work. He was a volunteer with the Society if St Vincent de Paul for over 30 years, and his friendly yet discreet manner made him ideal for this work. He was a life-long Pioneer, and a dedicated blood donor.
Mattie was the son of Tom Francis, a native of Menlo, Galway, who came to Tuam to work as Dr Thomas Bodkin Costello's chauffeur, groom and general handy-man. He married Nora Howley from Cloonkeen and they had four children, Padraic, Nellie, Peggy and Mattie, of whom Peggy is the last survivor.
Mattie was a football fan, and in 1952 he had a fateful meeting on a train going to see Galway play on Croke Park. Lily Creane from Galway was on that train too, and she and Mattie struck up an absorbing conversation. They were not to meet again for another six months, but the romance had been kindled. They married in 1959, and although by then seriously ill, Mattie was able to celebrate their 50th anniversary with his beloved Lily and their family. Lily was the foundation upon which everything else in his life rested. She gave him unconditional love, and they had a great life together.
A loving father and a supportive and generous man, Mattie had a great sense of humour and always put his family's needs before his own. He bore his illness with great fortitude, and never lost his ability to have a joke.
He will be sadly missed by Lily, his daughter Maria, sons Murt and Ger, his adored grandchildren Ciaran, Eoghan, Sinead and Thomas, his sister Peggy, brother-in-law Tony, nephews, nieces, friends and the customs whose company he enjoyed down through the years.
Courtesy of Tuam Herald
October 22nd, 2009 Tweet
