Limerick cartoonist remembered for his ‘humble and kind’ nature

WARM tributes have been paid to the former Limerick Leader graphic artist and cartoonist Seamus Donelan.

Seamus, who passed away on Christmas Eve, was well-known for producing his cartoons, entitled As Donnelan sees it, a deliberate misspelling of his surname.​

He was also the first ever graphic artist at the Limerick Leader, and this newspaper’s long-serving former editor Brendan Halligan described him as “gentle, humble and kind”.

“Seamus was an ingenious graphic designer, an entertaining cartoonist and a trailblazing professional. But he was more, far more than even that. The perpetual glint in his eye lit up the lives of us all,” he added.

Although he was originally from Tuam, Seamus spent most of his life in Caherdavin. His funeral took place at St Munchin’s Church in Clancy Strand, before he was laid to rest in his home town.

Historian and former colleague Sean Curtin said: “Outside of being a lovely man and a great colleague to work with, he was an outstanding cartoonist and artist.”

He pointed out that the work Seamus did as a graphic artist required far more effort than it would today.

Another of his former Leader colleagues, Jimmy Marks added: “He was a very kind, intellectual individual. For the short time I worked for him, his name always stuck in my head. Any time I’d meet him, he’d always be very courteous, a social individual, if that makes sense.

“He had many a friend. He was a guy easy to talk with. You could feel at ease with him.”

Rest in peace.