Brennan, Phil
May 23, 2012Many Irishmen who landed in New York in search of a dollar and a job made Phil off in the hope that he could steer them in the right direction.
Phil, himself, had known emigration from his native Donegal, firstly to England and then the Big Apple in America.
Like many of his own generation and countless numbers over the years, emigration to foreign soil was the only alternative to a non-existent job at home.
The Irish navvie was credited with building England and America and Phil knew what it was like to put in a hard day's work on the building sites in these foreign cities.
He also knew the importance of having proper working conditions and pay for his fellow workers and was a deeply committed union member in New York.
Aged 86 years, Phil hailed from Ireland's most north westerly county, Donegal and as a young man took the emigrant ship to England in the 1950s.
Work on the building sites was hard but available to an able bodied man like Phil who was willing and able to take on most tasks.
His time in England proved very fortuitous for him as he met the love of his life and future wife, Mary Daly, from Castleisland there. Marriage vows were exchanged and the newly weds ventured for horizons new and the land of opportunity beckoned in New York where they landed in the 1960s.
The construction sites in the boroughs of New York were booming and teeming with Irish emigrants.
Phil became an active union member and it was not long before he was elected as a union delegate and business manager of the Local 33 Mason Tenders Union.
Phil was known for his tough negotiating skills when it came to getting benefits and pensions for union members. Two of his fellow union delegates were Johnny Connor and Tommy Hennessy, who hailed from North Kerry.
Irishmen, but particularly those from Donegal and Kerry were taken care of when they came to Phil in search of a job. He tried his best to get employment for all those who had left home, like himself, in search of opportunity.
This was certainly reflected in the large numbers of people who came to pay their respects at his repose in the family home in Castleisland. Many told stories about themselves and other family members who were indebted to Phil for giving them a start.
Phil was also very involved in the Donegal Football Club in New York and it certainly helped if anybody applying for a job was handy at Gaelic football.
Many Kerry greats donned the Donegal jersey while domiciled in New York doing summer work.
Phil's love of all things GAA continued when he and his wife Mary returned to Castleisland where they built a holiday home.
They finally retired to Kerry in the millennium and Phil indulged in another of his pastimes, fishing the rivers of the county, casting a line in search of the bradan feasa.
Sadly for Phil, his life-long partner Mary passed away in her native heath in 2005.
Phil received great support from relatives and friends after Mary's passing. When his own health began to deteriorate Phil was fortunate to have his niece Irene O'Donnell, Riverside, Tralee and her family care for him.
Phil passed away on Tuesday May 15 and his remains reposed at his home in Ahaneboy, Castleisland on Thursday.
Following Requiem Mass on Friday morning, Phil was laid to rest in St John's Cemetery, Castleisland
He is survived by his sisters Sr Catherine Laboure (Sally), Nazareth Order, Belfast, Mary Alice and Lucy, Clonmony, Donegal, nephews and nieces in Ireland and Boston and the countless emigrants whom he helped on foreign shores.
Go ndeana Dia trocaire ar a anam.
- courtesy of The Kerryman, 23rd May 2012 Tweet
