My dad was born in County Monaghan, Ireland on a farm 1 mile south of the border, about eight miles west of Dundalk. He was the youngest of seven children and left home at an early age to see the world and carve out a living of his own. 

He traveled and worked through England, Australia, New Zealand and USA before settling down in Canada. While on his way to Chicago, he was told by another chap from Wales that there were good paying jobs in Sudbury. He went into Inco’s office and was hired right away after completing the medical. 

He married Maureen Brannigan from Copper Cliff and they were together for 18 years. They had five children, Kevin, Kathy, Margaret, Elish, and Michael. Dad bought his first house in Coniston for just $1400 and spent time remodelling it into a raised bungalow by adding a full basement and many other upgrades.

He made many friends through work and joined the Irish Heritage Club where he served as President for a while. Dad used to play the role of Santa Claus at the Club for the kids’ Christmas party. One year, my sister Elish figured out he was in the Santa costume by the scent of his cologne. We also spent many fun summers at our cottage on Deer Lake west of Verner. My dad built this cottage by reconstructing a disassembled garage from another location and extending it to make a very comfortable place on the lake. 

Dad always enjoyed sports and was quite a good footballer as a young man. Being a team sport, hockey had an instant appeal for him where he favoured Toronto for many years. Dad retired from Inco at age 53 and kept busy as a landlord, as well as running a corner store and a donut shop. He was always very motivated and hard working and we’re proud of him.