Tony Moran, 1912-2002 Born: 8 Feb. 1912, Shraloggy, Carrowbeg, Newport, Co. Mayo. Married: Bridie Dowling(Laois) in 1952 Children: (5) Tommy, Yvonne, Anto, Paul and Seamus. Grandchildren: (11) Gillian(deceased), Pamela-Jane, Nicola, Mark, Jamie, Robert, Aimee, Christopher, Peter, Kevin and Lisa. Occupation: Bricklayer and Builder. Died: At age of 90 years in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin following a brief illness on 24 March 2002. Funeral: 27 March 2002 at Raheny Parish Church. Burial: 27 March 2002 at Ballgriffin Cemetry, County Dublin.

Please contribute your stories about Tony or comments about this site to tommyajmoran@gmail.com or click on the following link  Email Tommy

The Funeral, a celebration of a gentle life.

First reading by Tommy

An extract from "The Prophet" by Kalhill Gibran

For then Almitra, the priestess said,
Speak to us of death
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun.
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you
Indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountaintop, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs then shall you truly dance.

Second reading by Paul

A reading from the Book of Common Prayer

May the Lord support us all the day long
Till the shades lengthen
And the evening comes,
And the busy world is hushed,
And the fever of life is over
And our work is done.
Then in his mercy, may he give us
A safe lodging, a holy rest,
And peace at the last. Amen.

Prayers of the faithful.

Mark

Let us pray for grandad, all his brothers, sisters, relations and baby Gillian who have died and are welcoming him today.
Lord hear us

Jamie

Let us pray for our granny who spent 50 years loving, caring for and being loved by grandad.
May the Lord comfort and console her.
Lord hear us.

Robert

Let us pray for Thomas, Yvonne, Anthony, Paul and Seamus to give them strength and grace in this time of sadness
Lord hear us.

Aimee

Let us pray for Dr. Fox and all the doctors and nurses in Beaumont Hospital who cared so well for our grandad.
Lord hear us.

Presentation of gifts

The youngest four grandchildren, Peter, Christopher, Kevin and Lisa presented his spirit level,his bricklayer's trowel, his walking stick and his hat.

The bread and wine were presented by his nieces, Patsy and Nancy( who is Tony's god-daughter).

A reading by Seamus

Sonnets to Orpheus
By Rainer Maria Rilke,
Translated by Stephen Mitchell

#13
Be ahead of all parting, as though it already were
Behind you, like the winter that has just gone by.
For among these winters there is one so endlessly winter
That only by wintering through it will your heart survive.

Be forever dead in Eurydice - more gladly arise
Into the seamless life proclaimed in your song.
Here, in the realm of decline, among momentary days,
Be the crystal cup that shattered even as it rang

#29

What is the deepest loss that you have suffered?
If drinking is bitter, change yourself to wine.

In this immeasurable darkness, be the power
That rounds your senses in their magic ring,
The sense of their mysterious encounter.

And if the earthly no longer knows your name,
Whisper to the silent earth; I'm flowing.
To the flashing waters say; I am.

Reflections by Tommy.

Tony Moran was a quiet man, a gentle man and a gentleman.
He set us all up on a righteous path through life with a simple philosophy and some well-chosen phrases. He was a man of few words, but his carefully chosen words always spoke volumes. His kindness and gentleness of spirit was also reflected in his mild-mannered way of speaking.

He treated everybody with dignity and respect, from our mother, our brothers and sister, relations, friends and neighbours, to the man in the street. He would always back this up with, If you have nothing good to say about someone, then say nothing at all".

His fifty year relationship with "Mammy", as he always called her, which we have always been part of was a gentle and caring love-affair. We cannot recall anger or anything other than harmony while we were living at home. I can recall the reaction of some of my college friends after spending a short while at my parent's house. They asked me, " Is it always like his in your house?". "Like what?", I replied. The response I got truly shocked me. "Do all your family always get on so well with each other?" I really could not understand the question fully, as I had never known that it could be any other way.

His work, like his life, was simple and direct and based on the sound principles of his lifelong trade. "Get the foundations right and then keep everything upright(plumb), square and level".

Daddy never forgot his roots, and instilled in us all a love of "the West", of our culture and of our history and the part our family played in it. I know that there was no prouder Mayoman than the day a son of his own godson won an All-Ireland medal in Croke Park

Mammy played such a big part in Daddy's life and was always available to help out on the building site. She actually preferred this to housework and was mean operator with a wheelbarrow on a plank. I was reminded that she did threaten to go on strike on at least one occasion, but thankfully, although industrial relations may have been strained for a while they were never broken.

I want to thank you, one and all for travelling from near and far to join with us in this celebration of Daddy's life.

On behalf of Mammy, Yvonne, Anthony , Paul, Seamus and myself, I particularly want to thank Susan, Anne and Liz for their emotional and practical support over the last few difficult weeks and days.

I want to thank the parish of Raheny for their support in our times of need.

A special thank you to our choir for today, Anne Sheeran, Susan Gibney and my daughters Nicola and Pamela-Jane, for helping to make today's celebration so wonderful.

Finally a word to all of the ten grandchildren here today, we are all very proud of you, and I know Grandad is too.

Thank you Daddy for everything and we all love you very much.