PEOPLE in Lahinch are mourning the loss of a community leader following the passing of Tomsie O’Sullivan. The long serving community activist died at his residence in Doonboy, Station Road, Lahinch, on St Patrick’s Day. After reposing in Lahinch Church on Friday, his Funeral Mass took place on Saturday morning before burial afterwards in the Old Cemetery, Ennistymon. While Tomsie was involved with numerous community organisations for decades, he is synonymous with the RNLI, who presented him with a Long Service Award for reaching 58 years with the organisation last September. The RNLI was very much a family affair as Tomsie’s children used to help him with church gate collections and flag days. In an interview with the Clare Champion last year, Tomsie estimated the Lahinch branch used to raise between €6,000 to €8,000 annually over a 28-year period. Born in Main Street, Tomsie’s father, Thomas, who was a carpenter fell off a roof in the early fifties …
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