Well-deserved Longford tribute to Frank

Based on what we witnessed in The Longford Arms Hotel a couple of weeks ago the unique Frank Kilbride might well feel justified in entertaining thoughts of entering the political fray once again.

People turned out in large numbers in support of this well-deserved tribute to Frank, stamping him indelibly as Mr Popularity. Although the programme of events started at 8pm, people were still queuing to gain entry up to ten o’clock.

From the first musical strains of Seamus Farrell, followed by up to twenty other luminaries from the world of country music, including greats like Philomena Begley, Dermot Hegarty, Brendan Shine and Kathy Durkin, provided a night of non stop musical entertainment; and comedian Gerry Keenan raised the the level of laughter to rafter level.

MC, Joe Finnegan, who kept proceedings flowing smoothly, interrupted the music mid point to introduce two soccer greats, Pat Jennings and Niall Quinn. Speaking on behalf of both, Niall Quinn paid a lovely tribute to Frank, and told a couple of charming stories, giving a good insight into the light hearted nature of their long-standing friendship. “This is the Frank we know and love”, he said.

In a short, reflective and emotional speech, Frank spoke of his experience of cancer and told the audience to “trust in prayer and the man above”. He paid tribute to his wife, Trish, and ended with his party piece “Be Nobody’s Darling but mine, love”, with Philomena Begley, Kathy Durkin and Dermot Hegarty, among others joining in. And with that countless outstretched hands reached towards Frank to greet him and wish him well; it was clear he hadn’t lost his touch.

For our part we acknowledge and thank Frank for his generous and longstanding helpfulness and support to the Longford Association-Dublin, many times giving us air time on his widely-listened-to Shannonside programme to plug our Annual Dinners; and we recall with nostalgia his two live radio programmes from Dublin, involving Association members and many friends, both programmes going well beyond the scheduled finishing line.

We take this opportunity to wish Frank and Trish many years of health and happiness, long into the future.