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Galway Advertiser 1996/1996_03_07/GA_07031996_E1_016.pdf
Remembering 'The Great O'Neill'
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GREAT many people in Galway will have felt a sense of personal loss upon hearing of the death last weekend of Professor T.P. O'Neill. For the career and interests of this gracious and rather 'Old World' historian made him a figure who was known and admired well outside the cloistered precincts of University College Galway, where he taught for many years.
A former student, Jeff O'Connell, recalls a long and fruitful association
I first came to know Tom O'Neill as one of his students back in 1968. Before com ing to Ireland the year before, I had spent one year at an American university in western Illinois. Certainly so far as lectur ers and lecturing were concerned, you would have to say they did things differ ently there. I don't believe I ever heard anybody refer to these laid-back, bearded and alarmingly youthful figures as 'lecturers'. Instead, they were known by their Christian names (though one, I recall, who described himself as a Buddhist strongly objected to this description, preferring to call the name his mammy and daddy had given him as his 'name of impermanence', as contrasted with his 'Buddha name', which was known to Buddha alone...) Carl, Tom, Richard, or Lucy. 'Lecturing' consisted of Carl, say, sit ting on the floor of his office (from which all departmental furniture had been removed, leaving only cushions and a wooden table the legs of which had been drastically shortened), while we, the stu dents, arranged ourselves as best we could on the available floor-space. Carl would then light a cigarette (at least, we assumed that's what it was), inhale and exhale a long, deep drag, and say something like, "Shakespeare, like, really knew, man. You know? Hamlet, man? Of course he knew. But they don't want you to know! That's why they've got places like this (he indicated his office and, by extension, the building within which it was housed, with a dramatic sweep of the hand not holding the ciga rette)!" And then he would ostentatiously take another drag, crinkling his eyes as if he was suffering from a bad case of exis tential 'angst' or, perhaps, an pre-lunch dose of Sartrian nausea. Instruction was, shall we say, 'informal'. Let us also admit it was 'cryptic', 'gnomic', and - when you came right down to it - a complete waste of time. I was, then, unprepared for the quite dif ferent manner of lecturing practised at University College Galway, as I slid my backside onto the long bench in the Latin Hall, smooth and shiny from the uncon scious polishings it had received over the years. Two gentlemen entered from the side door as we gazed down from our banked benches. One, the elder, gripped with both hands the sides of the podium he stood behind, while the other, a younger man (but bearing no resemblance whatever to Carl, Tom, Richard - and certainly not Lucy), took up an attentive position to the left of the podium. "Good morning, ladies and gentleman! I welcome you to this venerable institution of learning!" This was, as I later discov ered, Professor Gerard Hayes-McCoy, himself a 'venerable' figure at the univer sity, who would never appear in a lecture hall unless draped in the voluminous folds of his black academic gown. His lectures
knowledge of who was who, he advised us to send a copy to this person, and to be sure to get one to Mr. So-And-So. How much were we charging? Was that enough? It was typical of the man to be concerned that, having put the work in, we should not forget that the other part of I making something was selling it! On another occasion I invited him out to speak to a public gathering in Kinvara Community Centre on the topic of local history. Of course Tom had an unrivalled knowledge of this subject, and his talk informal, even chatty - was a model of how to communicate to the general public the often complicated information the his torian has spent years studying. Never pre tentious, never speaking over his listener's heads, Tom wore his great learning lightly. His genuine friendliness and interest in people was shown in the way he stayed on, long after the formal part of the evening was over, answering questions, and also hoping to learn himself. The local historian, I remember him saying once, did invaluable work, and often turned up information that the professional historian might overlook or never hear about ASSOCIATION WIH THE ADVERTISER
The Man Who Gave Galway Its Biggest Party
C o n t i n u e d From Page 1 promotion. Cllr. Henry O'Connor said that as a former stu dent of Tom O'Neill, he remembered him as a "fantastic lecturer". Cllr. Tom Costello enjoyed his weekly col umn in the Advertiser. Aid. Martin Connolly said that Professor O'Neill accompanied him as Mayor on a trip to Seattle. "He told the story of Galway to a stunned audience in a huge public hall. That man was a gift in promoting the city". But his historial talents were not always useful. Cllr. John Mulholland amusingly recalled T. P. O'Neill's lecture to the formidable Lynch Society of Philadelphia. The members were openly disgusted to bear that in fact their Galway ancestor did not hang his own son. The City Manager, Mr. Joe Gavin added bis trib ute to the Co. Cailow born historian, who made such an impact on his adopted city. "His passing will be a big loss", he said. SPECIAL GALWAY MASS On Tuesday March 12th at 7 pm at Galway Cathedral there will be a special Mass of Thanksgiving for Tom O'Neill. Everyone is welcome to attend.
His association with the Galway Advertiser, treated elsewhere by the Editor, is, of course, well known, and one of which all associated with the paper are were each small works of art - informa he had virtually thought up by himself, very proud. His regular column, on the tive, dramatic, and punctuated with and to which he made an outstanding con Comment and Letters page, treating of the learned jokes and the inevitable mention tribution for which he will be remembered great and small events in Galway's long of Bellmullet as the very type and repre by all Galwegians as long as the City history, has been enormously popular'! sentative of isolation, a place in which, if stands. since its first appearance during the a piece of news was known, it followed it It's hard to believe now, after so many Quincentennial Year, eliciting letters from was known generally throughout the towns and cities, churches and other pub both local Galwegians as well as those still world. lic buildings, clubs and organisations, proud of their city who now live as far The other, younger lecturer was TP. have had their bi -, tri-, quin-, or millenial away as the United States and Australia. O'Neill, and he was, as they might put it in celebrations, that the whole thing started He really liked people and it showed. Bellmullet, quite a different kettle of fish. as an idea in Tom O'Neill's mind. Indeed, Whenever he was down in Galway to visit Where Professor Hayes McCoy conjured from little acorns do large oaks grow! friends or give a lecture, he invariably up images of 19th century gas-lit halls, After moving to Kinvara I developed called into the office on Church Lane. It j TP. was of the present age. While the a tremendous interest in the history of the was always a pleasure to see him, and he fomer's lectures still had about them a parish, South Galway, and, of course, always seemed genuinely glad to greet old touch of theatricality, they also gave the Galway itself. friends, and new. He was a big man, and impression they had been composed with In 1990 this fascination with history one always had the sense of a definite and in the last week instead of during the last and my love of Galway resulted in strong 'presence' once he entered the century. 'Medieval Galway - A Ramblers Guide room, which he did usually with a joke or I always enjoyed Tom's lectures very and Map, produced by artist Ann Koiff, a kind word for someone he might not much. He spoke with authority and archaeologist Jim Higgins, and myself. have seen for a while. insight, especially when it came to the When the time came to think about Tom O'Neill will be greatly missed Great Famine, a subject about which he launching it, I knew there was only one by many, many people, beginning with his was an expert and had written extensively, person who could do the job - Tom wife, Maura, and family, his very many and 20th century Irish political history. It O'Neill. friends and colleagues (including his col was my good fortune to be his student at I phoned him in Dublin, where he now laborator on the Dev biography, Lord the time published his important biogra lived, and with his customary graciousLongford), and the hundreds and hundreds phy of Eamonn de Valera, and I still recall ness, he agreed at once, only asking me to of students he taught during his career, and the sense of occasion everyone of us felt at send him a copy so he would know what the many dozens of ordinary Galwegians the first Jecture after the book's publica to say about it. who came to know this warm, friendly tion. As Tom came into the room we all On the day of the launch I met him man in his less formal role as the 'Barnum spontaneously broke into loud applause, at Ceannt Station and as soon as he was off & Bailey' of Galway's splendid and the smile - modest but also proud - the train he enthusastically said how much Quincentennial celebrations. that lit up his face is one of the memories he had enjoyed our production. After we A kind man, a gracious man, a fine I will always have of him. had taken a brief pause for some 'refresh historian with a true love of his subject ments', we made our way down to St.. Tom O'Neill's loss is Galway's loss. SAW THE VALUE OF LOCAL Nicholas's. Collegiate Church, the very Speaking personally, I wish to express my HISTORY appropriate location of the launch. deepest sympathies with his wife, herself a As Tom introduced 'Medieval fine historian, and family. After graduation I went to England Galway' to the guests at the launch, and Somqsne suggested in a letter to the". t where I taught for seven years - history, as spoke so warmly about the publication, I Advertiser a little while ago that we ought it happens. And it was not until I moved felt a sense of real accomplishment as I to have a few more statues in the city, to | back to Galway that I encountered Tom stood next to my former history teacher commemorate people who've made con again when I was giving tutorials in the and heard him recommend "this superb tributions to the life, culture and wellEnglish Department. He was just the production" in which I had played a part in being of Galway. same: kind and friendly and always with creating. We could make a start with TP. that interest in his former students that is Afterwards, when we had all gone O'Neill, a 'Galway' man, if ever there was I the sign of the good teacher. to The Quays for celebratory drinks, Tom one, whose contribution to the city he Tom's great year was the 1984 Galway showed his practical side. Was it going to loved was nothing less than 'historic'. Quincentennial, a year-long civic celebra be on sale in Dublin? Where? Had we con J.O'C. tion of pride in the history of the city that tacted the newspapers? With his vast
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