Éamonn Mac Coistealbha – Gaeilgeoir go Smior!

Éamonn Mac Coistealbha – An Irish Speaker to the Marrow!

by | 2025/11/25 | Language Affairs, Autobiography, Opinion, Obituary

Éamonn Mac Coistealbha – An Irish Speaker to the Marrow!

Teacher, Mentor, Irish Speaker

We had Éamonn Mac Coistealbha as our Irish teacher in second and third year at St Kieran's College, right up to the Junior Certificate. I was extremely fortunate, I must say, as I had excellent Irish teachers at the College. Éamonn was no exception. He was an Irish speaker to the marrow, who had not only a BA in Celtic Studies, but also an MA from Maynooth College. Éamonn attended St Kieran's College as a student, and returned as an Irish teacher in 1939. I think he was a mentor to most of the other Irish teachers in the school, including my father, who all had great respect for him.

A Strong Foundation in Irish

It's very important when you're learning any subject to have a good foundation. Without that, it's difficult to progress to learning more difficult things. I think that basic Irish is the most difficult subject to teach and to learn. Repetition and practice must be done again and again until you don't have to think about it. You're able to learn more interesting things after that – read wonderful books, have conversations on many topics, and so on.

Stone by Stone, Step by Step

Students who attended other schools said how difficult it was for them to learn Irish. But that wasn't the case for us at St Kieran's College at all. I didn't fully understand why at the time, but later I realised we had a high-calibre teacher. Éamonn was able to improve our knowledge, stone by stone, step by step, giving simple answers to our questions, and focusing on the important principles when we were ready. Éamonn was on the learning journey with us, working hand in hand (with us).

Éamonn was a patient, reasonable man, and a man who always listened to us. You have to take into account that Éamonn had a long curriculum to teach us for the Junior Certificate, and pressure on himself to finish it in time. There were teachers who taught their subjects at lightning speed. But perhaps they were the only ones who understood what they were teaching – we couldn't keep up with them in class at all.

Solid to the End

I don't remember when I first heard that Éamonn was very ill. But I remember that he would cough badly from time to time in class. Despite his poor health, Éamonn continued teaching right up to 1974, when he passed away.

Éamonn was a fine example to us. He never used the cane on us, never looked down on us, and always listened to us. He treated us well, and we had great respect for Éamonn because of that.

I will never forget Éamonn Mac Coistealbha. I use Irish in my own life every day, and I am grateful to that great man, Éamonn Mac Coistealbha, for what I learned from him all those long years ago.

Excerpt from his Obituary

There is no better way to conclude than with an excerpt from his obituary written by a fellow teacher at the school:

He was a man who devoted himself to his work always and never neglected any task he undertook. Teaching is often a thankless task, but that wasn't the case with Éamonn — his former students are forever grateful, understanding that they learned from him not only Irish but insight and wisdom about their own lives. He had a special interest in every aspect of College life — in every activity, in sports matters, in the boys' development overall. He was loyal to his people and to his parish, and was a committed member of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Kilkenny.

He was a truly generous, charitable person — a man from the country and of the country — who wanted nothing as respite from the cares of the world but a winter's day outdoors with his gun and his dog, or a golden August day by the western shore with his family. His death is a cruel blow to his wife and family, and a great loss to the College with the passing of this noble Christian. It is also a personal grief to those of us who worked many long years with him — we have lost a true friend. May God grant eternal rest to his soul and consolation to his wife and family.

 

Mícheál Ó Duibhir, Fíor-Fhear na hAthbheochana

Michael O'Dwyer, True Renaissance Man

by | 2025/10/08 | Autobiography, Personal, Obituary

Michael O'Dwyer, True Renaissance Man

I was very happy to be a student at St Kieran’s College in Kilkenny. As a child, I had a natural curiosity about the world and the stars above. From the moment I opened a book about planets, stars, and galaxies, I was completely enchanted. In my young mind, Newton, Galileo, Descartes, and Einstein were wizards who had uncovered the hidden laws and principles of the universe. To me, science was a kind of magic—only better, because it was true and could be proven. It’s no surprise, then, that when I began my first classes in the College, I was thrilled to find physics and chemistry on the curriculum.

Although almost every teacher in the school was excellent—knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects—one stood out as the person who opened doors of possibility for me: our physics teacher, Mr. Mícheál O’Dwyer.

He began teaching at St Kieran’s College in 1967, after ten years teaching in Downpatrick, County Down. In all, he spent thirty-four years working at St Kieran’s—a long career that left a deep mark on generations of students. When I was a teenager, he was like a high priest at the altar of science.

Master Craftsman

Mr. O’Dwyer was a modest, sturdy man, full of energy and quick, playful wit. Unlike many teachers of that era, he never used corporal punishment. He created a safe space where we felt free to think independently. That’s not to say he couldn’t maintain discipline—he certainly could. He used humor and gentle mockery when needed.

I remember one day when I was chatting and laughing uncontrollably in his class while he was trying to teach. He looked straight at me, a serious gleam in his eye, and said, enunciating every word slowly and clearly:

“Now, Michael—just because your father is the vice-principal…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. The entire class burst out laughing; I turned crimson with embarrassment. From that day on, I was as quiet as a ghost in the physics lab.

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. The entire class burst out laughing; I turned crimson with embarrassment. From that day on, I was as quiet as a ghost in the physics lab.

When he taught us about focal length in a lens, he didn’t start with equations but with the stories of the scientists who shaped our understanding: Kepler, Huygens, Newton, Descartes, and Gauss. He impressed upon us that we were inheriting a magnificent intellectual tradition. Then he drew a clean diagram on the board, showing how parallel rays of light bend through a lens and converge, before deriving the thin-lens formula for focal length.

Watching him work was like observing a skilled craftsman at his bench—precise, patient, and completely absorbed in his subject.

The Scientific Method

He never left theory as something abstract. In the case of focal length, he divided us into pairs, each with a lens, an object, and a screen. Our task: measure, record, calculate; then test whether our result matched the formula.

In this way, the lesson wasn’t only about optics—it was about the scientific method itself: forming hypotheses, testing them rigorously, and drawing conclusions from tangible evidence. He also taught us the importance of teamwork and cooperation.

Those lessons went far beyond physics; they taught us how to approach problems methodically and how to work together effectively.

Looking back, I can say with confidence that Michael helped shape my path. He lit sparks of curiosity in me—not by telling, but by showing how the principles of physics worked.

He had a profound influence on me at a decisive moment in my life. It’s no accident that I went on to study Physics at University College Dublin, then Electrical Engineering, and finally earned a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.

I spent most of my career in research and development in the field of wireless communications. My professional journey traces its roots directly back to those early lessons in the physics lab—and to our teacher, Mícheál O’Dwyer.

Scientist and Historian

Many years later, I met Míchael again. By that time, I was closer to the end of my working life than the beginning. I told him plainly what he had done for me and how much he had influenced my life. He was gentle and humble, but I could see quiet gratitude in his eyes.

During that visit, he revealed his second passion: he had become an accomplished local historian. In his retirement, he devoted himself to writing about the history of Kilkenny, uncovering little-known aspects of its past.

Among his works was The History of Cricket in County Kilkenny: The Forgotten Game, a book offering a fascinating insight into the evolution of the GAA. He examined the upper classes of Kilkenny society and wrote about the very area where he himself had grown up. I was delighted to discover that the man who had once shown me the beauty of light and motion was now illuminating hidden corners of our cultural heritage.

True Renaissance Man

News of Mícheál’s passing caused me great sadness—he went on the ‘path of truth’ in February 2025. Those words “path of truth” seem fitting, for he had taught us in his classes what truth meant in science, and how that truth could be proven.

His image remains vivid in my mind—clear and precise, as if it were yesterday: standing at the front of the physics lab, chalk in hand, that kind smile on his face before the words I’ll never forget—

“Now Michael…”

I’m deeply grateful that I had the chance to thank him personally for what he had done for me, and for the lasting, positive influence he had on my life.

Reflecting on his life, I see clearly that few teachers like him exist. Forty-four years of teaching testify to his dedication. He believed passionately in the power of education to change not only the lives of his students but society itself.

I learned physics easily in his class—but I also learned something deeper: how to think logically and practically. That has served me well in every aspect of my life. Even now, when I sit down to write, I still hear echoes of his lessons—his voice in my ear offering quiet advice:

“Be precise and clear. Think logically. Approach every problem with curiosity and respect for the truth.”

As Máirtín Ó Néill wrote in an obituary in the Record 2025 (St Kieran’s College), Míchael O’Dwyer was “a Kieran’s man with many parts —a scientist and historian, truly a Renaissance man.”

Teachers rarely make headlines, but they change the world quietly and profoundly—mind by mind, generation after generation. Míchael stood as the model of a great teacher—a guiding star of knowledge for me always. I will never forget him for as long as I live.

 

Mistreatment of a Long-Term US resident by immigration officials!

Ozzy Osbourne – an Prionsa Dorchadais ar Shlí na Fírinne!

Ozzy Osbourne – Prince of Darkness - dies!

by | 2025/07/30 | Obituary

Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne, the famous musician and lead vocalist of Black Sabbath, passed away on July 22, 2025, at the age of 76, due to Parkinson's disease and other health issues. The title of his song "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" reflects his indomitable spirit.

The Unruly Teenager and Heavy Metal

When Black Sabbath released their second album Paranoid in 1970, I bought it on cassette tape. The song "Paranoid" hit me like an electric bolt. I loved the power chords and riffs of Tony Iommi on his loose-stringed guitar, along with Ozzy's unique voice delivering the lyrics in a high pitch. I didn't stop listening to this album for quite some time. I recognized the raw emotions and they deeply affected me. This was one of the influences that inspired me to learn the electric guitar a little later. We, the fans of Black Sabbath, thought that we were cooler, more open-minded, wilder, and closer to each other compared to those who didn't understand Black Sabbath at all. Just like our parents, they didn't realize that we were forerunners of a new generation with a fresh perspective on the world. Music and its stars were a gateway for us to a different life, a new life.

Although no other Ozzy album had the same powerful effect on me, I kept up with what he was doing in his career and life. He was always a capable performer, not just a musician.

When he was kicked out of Black Sabbath due to excessive drug and alcohol use, Sharon Arden became his manager, and he began a new, very successful career. Sharon and Ozzy quickly became lovers, and they married in 1982.

I loved the song Crazy Train from his first solo album Blizzard of Ozz. He released about 25 solo albums, along with many singles and videos. He also sang on 10 Black Sabbath albums. His career lasted nearly sixty years.

“Crazy Train”

There was no order or organization in Ozzy's life. To tell the truth, Ozzy's life was out of control. In January 1982, he bit the head off a live bat on stage. Ozzy said he thought it was a toy. He had to undergo a rabies vaccination after that incident.

Later that year, Ozzy was arrested for urinating on the Alamo in Texas, and he was banned from performing on stage in San Antonio for 10 years.

In 1989, Ozzy was arrested for attempting, while drunk, to strangle his wife (and manager) Sharon. Although she didn't press charges, he had to spend six months in rehabilitation. He had a serious substance abuse problem for most of his life, cycling in and out of rehabilitation centers as he struggled to get clean. "I always abused drugs and alcohol as self-medication, as I never liked myself," Osbourne said in 2021. "I had great success in my life, but I never felt good about myself. And so, from a very young age, I was sniffing glue, all kinds of stuff, anything to get me out of my head." This struggle is clearly visible in various documentaries - such as God Bless Ozzy Osbourne (2009).

After No More Tears (1991), he announced he would be retiring from touring, but he returned to the stage again and again. He and Sharon created Ozzfest in the mid-1990s, and Ozzy became a heavy metal entrepreneur. He nearly died after an accident on an all-terrain vehicle in 2003. But he came back strong and he and his daughter Kelly topped the charts with the duet Changes. His dangerous ways were boundless, but he always found a way to keep going.

Ozzy also found success on television. When The Osbournes premiered on MTV in 2002, it showcased the chaotic life of Ozzy, Sharon, and their children. This show appealed to a new generation, showing them that although Ozzy's life was out of control, and despite being a rock star, the 'Prince of Darkness', as he was known, was a devoted father.

Extraordinary Royal Elder

Ozzy was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath in 2006.

Even in his sixties and seventies, Ozzy was working hard. He organized a 'comeback' tour for Black Sabbath in 2016. He sang Take What You Want with Post Malone, a song that was very popular in 2019. He often reflected on the impact his music had on his fans. "If I inspire a feeling in anyone else, my work is done." He also earned recognition from the music industry with a Grammy Award for the song I Don't Want to Change the World in 1994. Early in July 2025, he performed a farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, ending the night with Paranoid alongside the other original members of Sabbath - Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. Less than three weeks later, Ozzy passed away. He revealed that he had a type of Parkinson's disease in 2020. Ultimately, this condition was the cause of his death.

Ozzy is survived by his wife Sharon and children from his marriages to Thelma Riley and Sharon. Beyond the incredible headlines and scandals, he leaves a musical legacy that had a massive impact on the world and shaped rock music forever. Black Sabbath created a new genre - heavy metal. Dave Navarro of Rolling Stone said Black Sabbath was the "Beatles of heavy metal." The influence of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne continues to this day.

I feel Ozzy's death is both overdue and too soon. Overdue because no one thought, not even him, that he would live this long, given his addiction problems. Too soon, as we always hope our icons will live forever. Although Ozzy's crazy train has finally reached the end of the line, his influence on music and fans will continue forever.

 

 

Seirbhís Chuimhneacháin

Memorial Service

by | 2025/05/07 | Current Affairs, Personal, Opinion, Obituary

Memorial Service

Parents suffer terribly when their child dies. They never recover. My friend, Michael, recently lost his adult child. I hadn’t seen Michael at the gym for a month or two. I didn’t know why, but I thought he was on vacation. Unfortunately, he wasn’t.

Michael’s friend sent me a text last week, with a link to an obituary. At first, I was confused, because I didn’t understand why I was getting that notice. Then I saw that Michael was the father of the young person who died. But that’s just the beginning.

Invitation to the memorial service

Often, there is no big funeral when people die in California. However, a month or two later, a memorial service is held for them. Family and friends attend this celebration of life, and there are usually food and drinks available. I received an invitation to the service via another text, and I replied that my wife and I would be there. On Saturday, we dressed up for the occasion, and drove to the service venue - a golf course. We went there and a sign directed us to the ballroom. There was a table just inside the ballroom door, which had a screen showing photos from Áine's life there, and other mementos on the table as well. She had only been 22 years old when she died.

Micheál, Máire and Pádraicín were with her, and they welcomed everyone as they came in. Áine's parents - Micheál and Máire, have been divorced for a few years, and Padraicín is his current partner. A staff member then directed us to our seats. There was a leaflet on each seat for us, with a photo of a man (Liam) on the front page and a photo of a woman (Áine) on the back page, and a program on the center pages.

Áine was a male-to-female transgender person. She had gender reassignment surgery a few years ago when she was 20 years old. She grew up as a boy named Liam.

There were many people mentioned on the programme: Micheál at the beginning, Áine’s sister, Áine’s friends, her uncle and aunt, Padraicín and Máire at the end.

Celebration of Áine/Liam’s life

Micheál thanked us all for being there. It gave him and his family support and comfort, he said. He had fond memories of Áine and the relationship between them, and Micheál broke down crying from time to time during his speech, because it was very difficult for him to be up on stage, talking about his child like that. He said that it was difficult for him, his ex-partner, and his partner to accept it when Liam (at the time) told him what he was thinking. But they accepted him, and gave him their full support. When Liam had changed to Áine, Micheál admitted that he had never seen his child so happy before. She did not live at home at the time, but she went there often, because the university she attended was not too far from home. Micheál then said that things are not easy in America right now, but especially if you are transgender or an immigrant. The government targets all kinds of attacks on vulnerable people like that, he said. I was in tears and so was everyone listening to him, because this is an incredibly tragic story.

Áine’s sister, Emma, then came up on stage. She told us funny stories, because Liam was definitely a character, as they grew up together. There was devilment in his jokes. When someone was on the side of the road fixing a hole in their wheel, Liam rolled down his window and shouted at the poor guy, saying they weren’t allowed to park there. Emma said that Liam was also very smart, and that it was easy for him to learn science and maths. He enrolled in an engineering course at university without any problems, as he got great results in the entrance exams.

Everyone else praised Liam/Áine highly, both family and friends, and they had lots of stories to tell. At the end, Liam/Áine’s mother came up, and she also told a story or two. Then, she recited a poem by Robert Burns. The heartfelt speeches touched us all emotionally. Everyone was exhausted by the end.

Food and drinks were available afterwards. Most of the people at our table - all of us Michael’s friends from the gym - were leaving. So, we went home too, because we didn’t know anyone else, except for Micheál, and he was already very busy.

Conclusion

The suicide attempt rate among transgender people worldwide is between 32% and 50%. The main risk factors influencing suicidal behavior among transgender people are gender-based victimization, discrimination, bullying, violence, rejection by family, friends and the community; harassment by a personal partner, family members, the police, the community and the government, and discrimination and abuse in the health care system.

We will never know all the factors that formed a major influence on Áine, but the cultural and political environment were likely a few of them. In any case, it is a great sadness to her family, her friends and all of us, that Áine lost her life by suicide in the prime of her life, – eternal peace to her soul.

O.J. Simpson imithe ar shlí na fírinne

O.J. Simpson has died

by | 2024/04/24 | Obituary

O.J. Simpson has died

Almost 30 years ago, people all over the world were glued to their televisions, watching the 'slow speed chase' on the freeways of Southern California, and O.J. Simpson trying to escape from the police. It was the beginning of a great story that would enchant the people of the USA for at least a year and a half. This famous and infamous man died of cancer on April 10th. Who was that man, and why did he attract so much attention?

O.J.

Orenthal James Simpson was born on July 9, 1947 in San Francisco. His aunt gave him the name Orenthal, which was the name of a French actress she liked. At the age of two, he developed rickets, which left him lame, with his feet turned inwards. His mother could not afford to buy him leg braces. She tied a pair of shoes together with an iron bar, and O.J. had to wear them for a few hours almost every day, until he was five years old. His mother raised him and three other children by herself, where they lived in a rough area (Potrero Hill) in San Francisco. He was a troubled child, and joined a street gang when he was only thirteen years old.

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"I never infringed ón people," he said in an interview with Playboy in 1976. "I only beat up the dudes who deserved it - at least once a week, usually on a Friday or Saturday night. If there wasn’t a fight going ón, it wasn't a weekend."

O.J. played American football in middle school, and when he broke a few records, he caught the attention of talent spotters. From there, O.J. went from strength to strength. He was one of the best running backs ever in the National Football League (NFL) in the United States, and won the Most Valued Player (MVP) in 1973. He played for the 'Buffalo Bills' and the 'San Francisco 49ers'.

O.J. was also a movie star, even when he was playing for the NFL. He had a major role in the trilogy 'The Naked Gun' (1988,1991,1994), as a detective.

Murderer?

Despite being as famous as a footballer and an actor, he is remembered today as the prime suspect in a court case. If you're over a certain age, it's more likely than not that you've seen the police manhunt for O.J. on television, while he was in a car driven by his friend, Al Cowlings. O.J. had a gun, aimed at himself. The police arrested him when they arrived at his home. O.J. was accused of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.

Trial of the Century

O.J. had a team of lawyers. who were so strong that they were called 'The Dream Team'. Robert Kardasian, Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran were the members of that team. Although there was irrefutable forensic evidence that O.J. was present at the crime scene, a prosecutor named Christopher Darden made a catastrophic error in the court case. The murders took place at Nicole Brown's apartment, and the police found bloodstained footprints at that location that were the same size as O.J.'sown footprints. DNA evidence on a few drops of blood from the crime scene also placed O.J. at the scene. And one glove was found at the scene and the other glove of the pair at O.J.'s house, smeared with his blood and the blood of the two victims.

Despite that compelling evidence, the case fell apart when Darden asked O.J. put the gloves on. O.J. had only three words to say. during the trial, and he said them then – "they're too small!" When Johnnie Cochrane was making his closing statement at the end of the trial, he said: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit!" O.J. was found innocent ón all counts.

Karma?

But three years later in 1998, in civil court, Simpson was found responsible for the deaths of Brown and Goodman. He was fined $33.5 million. O.J. said that he did not have the money and only paid about $300,000 of the fine in total.

There was another chapter left in O.J.'s story, however, when he was accused of armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas in 2007. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison. But he was released in 2017 on parole, after serving nine years in prison.

O.J. Simpson died as a fallen hero who was no longer loved by the public, and that is a sad ending - may his soul rest in peace.

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Go gCana sí leis na hAingil!

May she sing with the Angels!

by | 2023/08/09 | Obituary

May she sing with the Angels!

It is hard to believe that Sinéad O'Connor has passed. I hope she will finally be free of worry, unlike in her life.

Childhood Injuries

Sinéad’s upbringing impacted her whole life, and especially her mental health. She described it in her autobiographical book entitled "Rememberings".

She was born in Glenageary in Dublin in 1966. In 1975, her father left and her family was split. Sinéad and her little brother went to live with their father, but they missed their mother a lot that whole time. So after a while they went to live with their mother. The whole thing was torture for Sinéad, as her mother beat the shit out of her over and over again. When she was just thirteen years old, Sinéad attended a rehabilitation center for girls with behavioral problems. She benefited little from that, however, and left the center after only a few years. She then attended boarding school in Waterford. During the summer holidays, she joined a band. When she went back to school, she left the band and ran away from the school and then got a bedsit for herself. In 1985, her mother died in a car accident. Sinéad was only eighteen at the time. Later in the same year, she signed a contract with 'Ensign Records', and left the country and went to London. The wide world knows what happened next!

Fame and Fortune

Sinéad received a Grammy for best rock performance in 1989, with her debut album 'The Lion and the Cobra', and that was just the beginning. When the song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' was released in 1990, she achieved international recognition as a singer, and the song went to the top of the charts around the world. The music video that was released with the song was also excellent, and still stands as a great example of that art. 'Nothing Compares 2 U' was nominated for three Oscars and 'Rolling Stone' magazine named Sinéad as 'Artist of the Year' in 1991. She has released 10 albums in total, with songs in various genres of music. from rock music to reggae music, from punk to traditional music.

Zealous Activist

But she was not just a musician, as she was an outspoken activist for human rights, who had no qualms about using her global platform to speak out without fear or shame against those who violate human rights.

Sinéad’s reputation was tarnished when she ripped up the Pope's picture in front of the world on the famous show 'Saturday Night Live'. She was showing her determination regarding the behavior of the Catholic Church, and in particular Catholic priests who sexually abused children. The ripping up of the picture caused trouble for Sinéad O'Connor, and she lost most of her fans in the United States as a result, even though she was absolutely right about what was going on.

But she was irrepressible, and Sinéad continued to speak out for those who were wronged, no matter how.

In Ireland, she built public support for people struggling with HIV/AIDS, at a time when it was heavily stigmatized. He spoke out for women's rights and also for immigrant rights.

The Last Track!

She had a difficult life, as she had constant ill health, both body (fibromyalgia) and mind (bipolar disorder). And worse for her than anything else, her son Shane died tragically as a result of suicide in 2022, and his death broke her heart.

On July 11, two weeks before her death in London, Sinéad announced that she had almost finished a new album (with only one track left). She has been working on the album for the past five years, her first album after her album "I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss" (2014).

Sinéad herself did not find any closure, between music and work. So, the best thing for us to do to find some sort of closure for her is to continue the fight for a worthy cause on behalf of the oppressed! She would want that, no doubt! I hope she will be able to sing with that amazing voice of hers, that was unbeatable, instantly recognizable, powerful and sometimes lonely, wherever she is!

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