Poignant mayoral reception honouring Carrick's triathlon founders
One of Carrick-on-Suir's highest honours has been bestowed on twin brothers, one of whom passed away last month, for their contribution to the social and sporting life of the town, their charitable works and organisation of the annual triathlon.
Mayor of Carrick-on-Suir Cllr Sylvia Cooney-Sheehan accorded a reception in honour of the late Barry McCarthy and his brother Gary in the Town Hall last Thursday.
Sadly, it was a posthumous award in the case of Barry McCarthy, who passed away the previous month.
Cllr Cooney-Sheehan said she was pleased to set a precedent for future mayors, that if a person has died, their deeds should not go unnoticed or unrecognised.
She said Carrick-on-Suir would not survive as a community without the volunteers who committed themselves to sports, music, drama, tourism and commercial progress. Barry and Gary belonged to this category of volunteers.
The Mayor spoke of the immense contribution the McCarthy family has played in teaching, swimming and water safety in the town.
Presentations of inscribed crystal and framed scrolls were made to Gary and to Barry’s widow Kathleen, and bouquets of flowers were presented to Kathleen and
Gary’s wife Marie.
Cllr Patsy Fitzgerald, seconding the motion to accord the reception, praised the amount of effort Barry and Gary put in to the town’s annual River Festival, which was the forerunner to the very successful Carrick-on-Suir Triathlon.
Retired CBS Secondary School teacher Noel Casey, who taught the McCarthy boys, regaled numerous and humorous accounts of their school days and also as members of the St Vincent de Paul Youth Conference.
He mentioned Gary’s support through his employer Bausch & Lomb for the Annual Toy Appeal.
Noel paid tribute to the boys parents Peter and Bernadette McCarthy and mentioned Gary’s support, through his employer Bausch & Lomb for the St Vincent de Paul’s annual Toy Appeal.
Maurice Organ, representing the Social and Literary Club, spoke of the McCarthy twins contribution to fundraising events the Club organised for local charities. while Niall Walsh of Carrick-on-Suir Development Association paid tribute to their input into the Association's River Festival and the successful annual Triathlon.
Donal Jacobs from Waterford said he first met the McCarthy twins at various triathlons and because there did not seem at the time to be much enthusiasm in Waterford he agreed with Barry and Gary to start a club in Carrick-on-Suir.
He said he was pleased the club has grown spectacularly through the years.
Gary McCarthy said he was proud to follow in the footsteps of his father Peter, who was accorded a similar reception for his work in water safety but sad that Barry was not present to share in the occasion.
He thanked all the speakers for their kind words and the people of the town and hinterland for their support for the annual triathlon.
He expressed the opinion that Carrick-on-Suir badly needs a representative in the Oireachtas and he urged the people of the area to support a unified candidate at the next election.
Following the speeches and presentations, the large attendance was invited to the Social and Literary Club for refreshments and a social evening.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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