‘John Joe belonged not to Cavan only but to all of us’
The following is an extract from the new book ‘The Gallant John Joe - Cavan’s Millennium Man’. In this passage, author George Cartwright recounts the funeral of John Joe O’Reilly.
Regret at his early demise may be termed nationwide or more and the spontaneous grief which characterised his funeral - the likes of which may never be seen again in any walk of life - was remarkable evidence of the deep sorrow which swept over the lonely graveyard near Killeshandra on that darkening November evening.
- Andy McEntee, The Anglo-Celt (November 1952).
Even by Irish standards, John Joe’s removal and funeral was spectacular. His death was so sudden and unexpected that there was little time to prepare for the funeral. True, the Army provided
the routine, and the Church the ritual, but it was the spontaneous outpouring of grief by ordinary people that made the occasion memorable. Few people had cars at the time, yet the cortége stretched for more than two miles, while thousands of people emerged from the lanes and byways of Meath and Cavan, gathering at the villages and crossroads to pay their respects.
Removal
On the Saturday evening his remains were removed from the Curragh Military Hospital to St Bridget’s Garrison Church. His coffin, draped in the tricolour, was carried on a gun carriage, and his cap and sword were placed on top. The No3 Army Band, under Lieutenant Denis Mellerick, marched in front of the procession and played the funeral music, and, immediately preceding, an escort of Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) marched with reversed rifles. The remains were received by Fr PJ Boylan, Senior Chaplain at the Curragh, assisted by Fr J McGurk. Among the large attendance was Liam Egan Major-General, Army Chief of Staff, Vincent O’Donoghue GAA President, Padaig 0 Caoimh GAA Ard Stiurthdir, playing colleagues, officers of Cavan and Kildare GAA Boards and representatives of GAA units countrywide.
After the funeral mass the next morning the cortége left the Cur- ragh at 10.15 to travel the 100 mile-plus journey to Killeshandra. Micheal Mac Gréil was in attendance as the procession departed:
“I remember his funeral very well as it left the Curragh for Cavan. My God, it was the biggest funeral I ever saw in my nine years in the Army. His death was so sad and tragic. It was such a great tragedy. Good Lord, when he died it was like losing a close friend. For me anyway and for others, to lose such an inspiring role model was very sad...
“The Army band played the Dead March under its leader Lieutenant Denis Mellerick. It was like something from history. A hero was being honoured! I was young at the time and I didn’t fully appreciate the extent of the occasion, for his family, for his county and for the Army.”
Procession through Meath
The cortége passed through Dublin, Navan, Kells, Virginia, and Cavan town. Outside Dublin it was over a mile long, and as it passed through Meath and into Cavan it doubled. Many travelled from Cavan to join the cortége at different locations. Crowds lined the footpaths and roadsides of the towns and villages at every vantage point as it passed.
Teammate Brian O’Reilly travelled with Simon Deignan from Barry’s Hotel to the Curragh and then to Killeshandra with the funeral procession. He remembers the crowds along the sides of the road at different locations and the guards of honour standing in respect as they entered the different towns. Brian reflected on the sadness of the occasion, and coming so soon after PJ Duke’s death it left him and his teammates stunned.
The Meath Chronicle described the cortége passing through Meath:
"At every vantage point, as the sad procession passed through Meath, sympathetic crowds gathered, and, with hats off and heads bowed, paid regretful tribute. Going through Navan the procession must have been a couple of miles in length and the people stood to attention in respect, with obvious grief on many faces.
"It was noticed that the procession included several bus loads. Some recalled Cavan’s triumphant passage in 1947 through Meath after winning, under his captaincy, the great final in New York, when they were given congratulatory addresses by Meath County Council and Navan and Kells Urban Councils.
Cavan
In Kells, a guard of honour formed outside the church, and there was another guard of honour in Virginia. The Termon and Billis (near Virginia) correspondent of The Anglo-Celt, noted afterwards that:
“The funeral cortége passing Billis Bridge on Sunday afternoon made a lasting impression on the many onlookers and was a fitting tribute to a great Catholic, Irishman, soldier and athlete.”
As the cortége approached Cavan town it was met by a crowd of people who had lined up on both sides of the Dublin Road. Former playing colleague Mickey Walsh was present:
“I went out the Dublin road from Cavan, along with everybody else in the town, to meet the remains and we lined up on both sides of the road on the outskirts. I remember it well; the Army was leading the hearse with carriages. We were very sad and still in total shock.”
At Breffni Park, where John Joe began his senior career and also played his last game, the cortége halted. After a minute's silence it continued, and according to the Ballinagh correspondent to The Anglo-Celt.
“Hundreds stood to watch at all the road junctions, crossroads, etc as the funeral passed on its way from Cavan town to Killeshandra, and many tears were dropped...
Burial in Killeshandra
Crowds had been gathering in Killeshandra from noon. Some had arrived the night before, and all local guesthouses were full. Many travelled long distances by car, others cycled, and locals walked. By 2.30 the town was thronged with people from all over the country.
People abandoned their cars, and thousands lined the half-mile route from the town to St Brigid’s Church. The entire population of the area from miles around turned out to pay their last respects to someone they loved and admired.
They stood at vantage points near the graveyard and on adjoining fields and ditches to try and get a glimpse of the impressive, inspiring, and sad ceremony which was being accorded him by the Army
and his former teammates. By the time the cortége reached the outskirts of the town, it was more than two miles long.
It then stopped, and an Army escort formed in front of the gun carriage and with reversed arms marched the half mile to the church. The number 3 Army Band played the Dead March. A bearer party of NCOs carried the coffin into the church where a short prayer service was held.
The remains were received by Fr PJ Boylan, Senior Chaplain, Curragh Camp, Canon Philip Smith, PP, Killeshandra, Fr Patrick Connolly, PP Kilmore and Fr John Donohoe, CC Killeshandra. After
the service the coffin was carried into the graveyard nearby by his former playing colleagues on the Cavan teams.
Fr J O’Regan and Fr Boylan recited the prayers at the graveside. After the coffin was lowered, the firing party under Lieutenant J Clarke of the General Training Depot fired three volleys and the Last Post and Reveille was sounded.
The chief mourners were: Mrs Olive O’Reilly (widow); Breffni and Brian (sons); Sarann and Alva (daughters); John and Sarah Ann (parents); and his twelve siblings, Maureen, Michael, Fr Brian, Tom, Peg, Kathleen, Vincent, Frank, Eileen, Annie, Josie and Seamus; uncles, aunts and many cousins.
Among those who attended were Paddy Smith, Cavan TD and Minister for Local Government, Jack Lynch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Government, who had played for Cork against John Joe in the All-Ireland final of 1945, local and national politicians, numerous army officers of all ranks, Sean O Siochain representing the GAA’s Central Council, GAA representatives from throughout Ireland, and hundreds of clergy. Throughout the country the Tricolour flew at half-mast and two minutes silence was observed at all GAA games.
The Curragh Bulletin summed up the sombre mood during the obsequies:
“The large gathering which attended the removal of his remains to the Garrison Church and the colossal crowd which followed his funeral to his lonely resting place amongst his people in distant Killeshandra churchyard, the little knots of women telling rosaries by country crossroads, bore eloquent testimony of the high regard in which he was held. Safely we may say that there was no one who attended the obsequies but did so out of genuine high esteem and affection for him.
Irish Press tribute
Tony Myles writing in The Irish Press on the day after the funeral described the journey back to Cavan, and the John Joe he knew:
“Back through the hilly country of Cavan, past the towns and villages he knew so well, they brought John Joe O’Reilly yesterday, to the place that gave him birth, to lay him for his long rest; back to the place that saw him a member of a great Gaelic football family where he grew up to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious father.
“The first time I met John Joe O’Reilly was at Shannon Airport in 1947 when with the Cavan team he was boarding a plane for America. John Joe was captain of the Cavan team which beat Kerry a week later in New York in the All-Ireland final. He struck me then as being the captain one wanted to see in America — before a critical audience, perhaps — for he appeared the perfect sportsman and real gentleman.
“I asked him his forecast of the result. ‘One can never tell between Kerry and Cavan, he said ‘but you can be certain we won’t let our own country down no matter who wins’
“And that, I think, about summed up the good character of this great Cavan man. He would never let you down; he was a great footballer, a great leader of his team, but the prestige of the games and his Gaelic tradition meant more to him than even a Cavan victory, much as he loved Breffni. To be a good sportsman, a good Irishman, and a Gael in the best sense of the word, meant more to John Joe O’Reilly than any All-Ireland medal. He was a soldier too; he loved the flag he served under, and the men in the Army - who perhaps knew him better than we did — will tell you that they met no finer a gentleman.
“Yesterday there were sad faces and choked voices all along the long route back home from the Curragh as John Joe made his last trip. At the crossroads they were gathered, old men who shook their heads sorrowfully, women who cried without restraint and little children who did not know what it was all about but who, nevertheless, had their solemn moment as the bier passed them by.
“This was Cavan sorrowfully bringing back one of its finest sons. But it was Ireland too, for John Joe O’Reilly belonged not to Cavan only, but to all of us, no matter what county we come from, who appreciate a gentleman, a soldier, and a Gael. He had played the game of his life to its finish and he played it as he played the game of football he loved - a sportsman and a gentleman. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.”