1945-2013
An Appreciation by Vincent Carmody

For me, Race Week 2013 did not have the same resonance as previous years. Some weeks previous, news came through of the death of one of my closest and lifelong friends, michael Sheehy of main Street, Listowel and Yonkers, New York.
Michael or Mike as he liked to be known, liked nothing more, than to return to his home town for race week accompanied by his wife and best friend Mary, daughter Kerry and sons Patrick and John.
Even though he was lost to emigration, first to London and then to New York in the early 1960s he remained a true son of Listowel. A long time member of the New York Kerryman's Association, he was, over those emigrant years, to the forefront when it came to organising and collecting, for many fundraisers back in his native town.
He was the second born of a family of five boys to Jack and Moira (nee Madden) Sheehy who ran a small grocery and meal store.
Michael had his early education at the local National School, afterwards St Michael's College and the Listowel Technical School in Church Street where he completed a commercial course. He often told me the days spent at the Tech were the happiest of his life as it allowed him to express his many footballing talents at both local, on the schools senior football team, and nationally as a key member of the Kerry Vocational Senior Team.
He was a free scoring forward on both the Listowel minor side who defeated a star studded Ballylongford team in the North Kerry Minor Championship final of 1962 and the North Kerry team which won the Kerry Minor Championship in the same year. He was also a formidable player with the Listowel soccer team and could mix it with the best at both tennis and handball.
Michael was a modest man who could see fun in most things and was never afraid to have a laugh at himself. To his wife Mary, sons, Patrick and John, daughter Kerry and their respective families, his brother's Martin, Pat and Jerry we send our deepest sympathy on their great loss.
Requiem mass for Michael was said in St Brendan's in the Bronx. Michael is buried In The Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester.
Ni imithe uainn ata se ach imithe romhainn (he is not gone from us but before us) Tweet

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