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John McGuighan RIP
The death has taken place of John McGuighan, Sheena, Drumkeeran.
John died in the North West Hospice early on Sunday morning, 14th April.
John McGuighan was born on 19th July 1927 in the townland of Bohey, Dromahair.
He
was the third of the six children of Rose and Thady McGuighan.
John attended Killoosey NS and, as he grew up,
he would have done the usual bits of
work on the family farm.
He then spent some time working in the forestry and in the
quarries,
before going to Birmingham in early 1950, where he began working on the
buildings.
In Birmingham he met Rose McAllister from Newry, Co Down.
He and Rose were married
on 14th April 1956 in Sally Oak, Birmingham.
It’s rather touching to note that John
died
on what would have been the 57th anniversary of their wedding.
John and Rose returned to Newry to bring up their two children, Geraldine and Terry.
John
was a great family man, a very devoted husband to Rose
and a great father to Geraldine
and Terry.
In 1977 they moved from Newry and lived briefly near Dromahaire
before settling in
Drumkeeran in 1979.
Ten years later, in 1989, Rose died rather unexpectedly, after a brief illness.
Her
death came as a huge blow to John and to the family.
And yet, in his quiet way, John
came to accept her loss and got on with life.
The last eight or ten years have not
been easy for John.
His declining health and his failing eyesight
severely limited
his ability to move out and about.
Over the years John lived in many places, including Birmingham,
the Isle of Man, Newry,
Dromahair and finally Drumkeeran.
But no matter where he travelled, or where he lived,
John
was first and foremost an Irishman.
He took great pride in his Irish heritage and
took great pleasure
in giving full expression to all aspects of that heritage.
He loved
Irish traditional music and he loved the Irish dancing.
In his younger days he and
his sister Ann
won medals for their dancing skills.
Though a private person in many ways, John enjoyed the company of people.
He enjoyed
the occasional drink, especially whenever there was a music session.
People, in turn,
enjoyed his company and they enjoyed
his quick wit and his sense of humour.
John McGuighan was a good-
He was, of course, a great family
man,
a devoted husband and a great father.
And, in more recent years, he took great
delight in his grandchildren.
He will be sorely missed by all the members of his family.
He is survived by his daughter Geraldine Dolan, Sheena,
by his son Terry, Dromahair,
and
by his sister Ann in Canada.
John’s funeral Mass took place on Tuesday, 16th April
after which he was laid to rest
beside his late wife Rose
in Drumkeeran Cemetery.