Éamonn MacThomáis arrived into the
Rathmines Town Hall. It was 2002 and he had come, with time to spare, to lead a
walk around the locality. The event was part of the inaugural Rathmines
Festival and the much loved author, broadcaster and historian was not sure how
many would turn up. Though a household name, he had been out of the public eye
for a while and had recently been fighting with ill-health.
While waiting for the start of the walk, he
sat in the staffroom of Rathmines College and talked about his association with
Rathmines. He was born there, in the care-taker’s house attached to what is
called the ’council yard’. Fond memories of his first five years; he had,
surprisingly, never been back.
“But, that house is part of the college, we
can go there now.” He was awe-struck.
Inside the old house, visibly moved, he
recounted his memories. His recollection of the details of the house after 70
years was impressive; it was quite obvious what a great pleasure it was for him
to be back in his first living room, bedroom, kitchen.
Some weeks later he wrote a letter to say
how much he enjoyed the day and seeing the old house. He died later that year. I don't know if that walk was his last public appearance, but the public had, most definitely, not forgotten him. A huge crowd collected in the Town Hall for the event and the chance to meet a most likeable, interesting and humble man.
No comments:
Post a Comment