They came, they sang, they danced, they played, they supped tea and they ate brack.
And then they sang and played some more and they supped more tea and downed more brack.
Pictures: Seamus Healy
It was standing room only – and just about – as Glenflesk opened its doors, turned on the lights and placed the welcome mat on the step for a very special rambling house session on Saturday night.
They gathered in their droves in memory of two late great Glenflesk men, whose respective deaths greatly saddened the parish and beyond, and they were remembered with great fondness by all in attendance.
The big event was dedicated to Dan Favier and Johnny O’Brien, both of whom were known far and wide, and a nostalgic night of music, song, dance, stories and chat was held in their honour.
Framed photographs of both men adorned the mantelpiece and if they could see what unfolded on the night, they would most certainly have nodded in approval.
It was held in St Agatha’s Hall in Glenflesk for over three hours and the organisers even managed to persuade two of Kerry’s five TDs – the Healy-Rae brothers – to do their party piece.
Johnny ‘The Rock’ O’Brien was a colourful personality in his native Glenflesk where he had a small farm holding and tended to his flock of sheep and his beloved horses on a daily basis.
A great community man and a bachelor who lived alone, he died in a fire that gutted his two-storey home – at the side of the main Killarney to Glenflesk road – at Christmas 2022.
The death of Dan Favier, which occurred unexpectedly at home in November of last year, robbed the parish and the county of a great GAA stalwart who dedicated so much time and energy to the game, to his parish and to so many local organisations.
A long-time administrator with Glenflesk and the East Kerry Board and a postman for over 40 years, it was known that if Dan Favier was asked to do a job it would be done well.
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