The late Jim (Jemmy) Walsh A great sense of shock and loss was felt in Ferrybank and indeed Waterford city recently with the sad news that Jim Walsh, age 70, had lost his brief but brave battle with cancer. An illness he borne with great courage and dignity and never let it get him down or take control of his everyday life. A native of Pearse Park, Waterford, for Jim, his home and his family were the main focus= in his life. Closely following were his interests and involvement with Ferrybank GAA where he spent most of his spare time helping with the day to day running of the club. His weekends were always spent at matches, home and away, following the progress of his two grandsons, Darren and John, in underage hurling and fittingly saw John playing in Croke Park with Ferrybank U12s in October and Darren lifting the U14 Eastern Cup last November. His evenings were spent in the parish hall with amongst others his life long friend, Hughie O'Neill who he would call into for a chat after he was finished practicising with the Ferrybank Senior Choir. He loved being a member of the choir and enjoyed singing at 11 o'clock Mass in the Sacred Heart Church in Ferrybank and also the Communions and Confirmation days. To say that the late Jim was a larger than life character would be an understatement. He was famous far beyond for his good nature, cheerful personality and quick wittiness. He was well-known throughout Ireland in his journeys all over when driving tour buses and through his work with CIE Road Freight, which helped fuel another great passion, his love of horse racing, as he drove many horse boxes to the UK and France and often got the tips straight from the horses mouth, as they say. Jim was also well-known in angling circles being a member of Waterford and Tramore and Chairman of Rhinneshark Sea Angling clubs for many years and fished in many competitions and won in 1988 the Yoplait International deep sea angling competition made famous through the association with RTE's Derek Davis. The great respect and esteem in which Jim was held in the community was best demonstrated by the large numbers of people that attended his removal from Power's Funeral Home on Tuesday, February 3rd. A fitting guard of honour from Ferrybank Juvenile GAA club accompanied Jim from the funeral home to the church. The next day, Requiem Mass was concelebrated at Sacred Heart chuch in Ferrybank by Fr James Crotty and Fr John Condon where he was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery on Wednesday, February 4th. A loyal and devoted family man, he will be sadly missed by his wife Eileen, his daughter Shirley, son-in-law Brian, grandchildren Darren and Josh. His sister Ann, brothers Paddy and Billy his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law and his many nieces and nephews, his extended family and his many friends. His gentle smile will never be forgotten he will be missed. Ar dheis de go raibh a anam dilis. - Waterford News & Star, February 17th 2009 Tweet

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