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A proud Clare man remembered

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Organisations from both sides of the Atlantic have been paying tribute to the well-known Ennistymon man Eamonn O’Loghlin, who was laid to rest in Canada earlier this week.

Clare Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway expressed his condolences to the family of Mr O’Loghlin, who passed away at the weekend. He was a broadcaster, publisher and advocate for the Irish community in Canada as well as a regular contributor to Irish media. Senator Conway described Mr O’Loghlin as a “personal friend” of his, adding that he was “deeply shocked” to learn of his sudden death. The Ennistymon senator highlighted the business links forged between Ireland and Canada by Mr O’Loghlin and his commitment to supporting Irish immigrants in Toronto.

“Eamonn organised and facilitated a number of trade missions between Ireland and Canada, most recently participating in a very successful trip in which Canadian investors travelled to Northern Ireland, seeking opportunities there.

“I will remember Eamonn most fondly for his tireless work on behalf of the thousands of young people from Ireland, many from Clare, who had to emigrate due to the recession. I have heard countless stories of assistance he gave people, from organising accommodation to arranging job interviews. For many years, he was the point of contact for all things Irish in Toronto, from music to sport and young people seeking employment.

“The last time I met Eamonn was at his 60th birthday party last summer in Clare, when he told me about the Irish-Canadian emigration centre he was helping to develop in Toronto. I was delighted that the Department of Foreign Affairs was in a position to commit some funding to this vital project,” Senator Conway stated, adding that Eamonn “will be sadly missed by everybody who had the pleasure to know him”.

Mr O’Loghlin was the executive director of the Ireland-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Toronto, since 1993. The organisation’s president, Cormac Monaghan, described him as “much-loved and greatly admired”.

“As those of you that knew Eamonn will know, he leaves an immense void in the Toronto Irish community, not least here in the Chamber. However, our loss is nothing compared to that of his beloved wife, Madeleine, and their two children, Treasa and Rory, both of whom Eamonn was immensely proud. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all as they try to come to terms with his sudden and untimely death,” he stated.
A friend of Mr O’Loghlin in Clare, Martin Vaughan, visited him at his Toronto home as a member of the Tulla Céilí Band in 1982.

“Eamonn was one of nature’s gentlemen. He should have been the Irish ambassador to Canada because he was so popular there. He did everything for people who went to Canada from Ireland,” he said.

Mr O’Loghlin was a talented musician and in 1998 founded a weekly Irish radio show, Ceol Agus Craic. He was honoured as Irish Person of the Year in 2009 for his work on the programme.

“He did a live programme one time from the Willie Clancy festival. He was in Canada in the studio and I was in Miltown speaking to him. Music was bred in him. He played piano himself. His brother Cathal plays music and his uncle Ruairí O’Connor from Doolin was a great musician and set dancer.”

Mr Vaughan recalled an incident on one of Mr O’Loghlin’s recent trips home to Ireland. 

“Eamonn was on tour last year and he saw this fella walking on the road coming out of Galway somewhere. He stopped the car and asked the man ‘will you sit in?’. The fella said ‘I will’. They started talking on the journey and after a while he asked the man’s name. He said ‘I am Brendan Gleeson’. So they had a great auld chat in the car,” he outlined.

Eamonn O’Loghlin may have lived in Canada for more than three decades but according to Mr Vaughan, “He was a real Ennistymon man. He loved coming back. He never forgot his roots. He will be sadly missed.”

“I’ll miss him because he was a great friend. He couldn’t do more for you, he would bring you every place. He loved meeting the locals who were still around  and to meet his family. He loved coming home and would call around to as many people as he could,” Mr Vaughan concluded.

Save Ennistymon’s Heritage spokesperson Denis Vaughan described Mr O’Loghlin as a “fantastic supporter of Save Ennistymon’s Heritage. He helped us generously and was a big supporter of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and the GAA. He attended both of Clare’s All-Ireland victories in 1995 and 1997. He was a keen golfer and had huge business and social links in Canada.”

He added that Ennistymon will sadly miss him and that he “will be a great loss to Ireland and Canada”.
Tributes were also paid to Eamonn by St Vincent’s GAA Club in Toronto, Canada GAA and Toronto Camogie Club.

Eamonn is survived by his wife of 37 years, Madeleine; his son Rory; his daughter Treasa and her husband Ed Prendergast; his mother-in-law, Eleanor Treacy; his sister, Ursula and brothers, Cathal, Donogh and Roddy and by his aunt Maureen in Florida.

 

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