Midlands mourns death of proud Ballymahon man Christy Maye, a towering figure in the world of hospitality and entertainment

The death has taken place of Christy Maye, proprietor of the famous Greville Arms Hotel in Mullingar and the former owner of the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore.

A keen farmer, Christy, of Lake Lodge, Cullionmore, Mullingar, Westmeath and formerly of Cloncallow, Ballymahon, Co Longford, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family in the early hours of Saturday morning, May 31 following a short illness bravely borne under the wonderful care of the medical staff in the Hermitage Clinic, Lucan.

He is predeceased by his parents John and Mary, his sister Eithne and his brother Liam.

Christy will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his family, his wife Ellen, his son Jason, his daughters Jillian (Cleary) and Lee-Anne and son in law David Cleary, his adored grandchildren, Anna and James, Holly and Heidi, his brother Johnny, sisters Kathleen (Hoare), Mary (Freak) (Australia), Carmel (Cashel) and Madeline (O’Scolai) (Canada), sisters in law and brothers in law, The Norris Family (Curragh, Rosemount), his nieces, nephews, cousins, neighbours his many friends, staff members from the Greville Arms Hotel, Danny Byrnes, The Bridge Centre and the farm.

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A proud Ballymahon man, Christy was a stalwart member of the business community in Tullamore for many years and developed the Bridge House Hotel into one of the leading establishments in the Midlands. He also built Tullamore’s first big shopping centre with the Bridge Centre, what a boost this was for Tullamore town centre almost 30 years ago.

He created opportunities and employment for so many, and brought a unique sense of warmth and family to every business he touched.

He was one of the founder members of the Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show in the early 1990s and played a key role in the event up to his retirement in recent years. He was also a cherished and valued member of Tullamore Lions Club for 45 years. 

A towering figure in the world of hospitality and entertainment, it can be said that disco music in Ireland all began with Christy's own brainchild, ‘Disc A Go Go’ in 1965.

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Disc A Go Go started in Mullingar Parochial Hall, when Christy came up with the idea of holding a ‘discothèque’ during the interval of showband acts.

Before he launched his Disc A Go Go – which gave rise to ‘disco’ music and disc jockeys all over the country within a few years – putting together equipment capable of producing the right sounds and creating the atmosphere he wanted, was Christy’s biggest problem.

“There were record hops in those days, but you could only use two small speakers, and there was no atmosphere. I had to find a way of cushioning the turntables, and used a spring from a car seat, and foam, and other padding, so that we could get the volume. We managed to separate the bass sounds and got the hi-fi effect, and we improvised in various ways to get the lighting effects,” Christy once said.

By modern standards the twin turntables, and all the equipment Christy used were primitive, but all the time it was something completely new, creating an atmosphere for dancing – and the crowds loved it!

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Proprietor of the Lake County, Mullingar, Paddy Fagan, asked Christy to hold Disc A Go Go in his hotel. Christy recalled, “On the first night, 70 or 80 people were there, after that the crowds just got bigger and bigger. He built a bigger ballroom and after a while built an even bigger one!”

Disc A Go Go went from strength to strength, spreading throughout the Midlands at a very fast rate, gathering hundreds to the local parish halls.

Funeral Arrangements
The late Christy Maye will be reposing at his daughter Jillian’s residence, Dunboden, Kilbride N91 HK28 (There will be a one way traffic management system in operation please travel via the Rochfortbridge road R400) on Monday, June 2 from 3pm-7pm. House private at all other times please.

Funeral Mass takes place on Tuesday, June 3 at 12 noon in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Forgney followed by burial in adjoining cemetery.