Honesty and hard work were the hallmarks of Powerstown man

The passing of Michael Prendergast, a few token breaths short of the century, marked the end of an era.
Michael Prendergast,, born in Ballinaraha in 1924, grew up in Kilsheelan and after leaving school, Michael completed a year-long bookeeping course, worked for butcher Bill Walsh in Ballypatrick before transferring to Burkes Bacon factory, Clonmel where he spent most of his working life as production manager.

BURKES BACON
Michael also spent a few years with Brett’s Oak Park in its formative years in Cahir. It was fitting that Michael and Joan Purcell met while employed by Burkes, they bought a site, a quarry in Powerstown, in the mid 1950’s, got married and together they settled down to build a new home and develop the site with plenty of hard work to lead a most extraordinary contented, satisfied and in many ways a simple life.

FAMILY VALUES
Family values were so important to Michael throughout his long energetic life.
Coupled with work, Church, community, sport, gardening, leading such an active life stood to Michael. For many operating within the Burkes factory it was so much more than a daily job.
The atmosphere always remained family orientated, everyone knew and helped each other both within and outside the factory, home life and interests were intertwined with the working week.

EXAMPLE
It was a wonderful way of life where people’s characters and interests were naturally cultivated. Leading by example, Michael was strict, punctual, conscientious, dedicated, honest, trustworthy, dependable, loyal and reliable, only the highest core standards were adhered to and all of these characteristics rubbed off on the workforce.
Often Michael would say the van salespersons would head off to far away locations with vans full of produce and return sold out without any of the produce pre-ordered, a hall mark of Burkes - top quality.

FAMILY FARM
Brought up on the family farm at home with his brothers, Jimmy, Eddie and sister Maureen, this was where the family values were initially nurtured.
The three boys remained extraordinarily close throughout their lives. Both Michael and Joan, along with Jimmy and Gertie, were best friends supporting and helping each other’s families in such a genuine manner.
Eddie blended in with both, his welcome presence always accompanied by humour while Maureen worked in England and America annually returning to Ballinaraha and Powerstown.
Michael and Joan’s lives were dealt such a cruel blow when Gerardine passed very soon after birth in 1969 but their lives and faith were rewarded with the arrival of Mike and John.

DEVOTION
Michael’s devotion to the church and dedication to the daily Rosary, Mass and religious ceremonies were second to none.
Along with rising early working a six day week, Michael developed a flower garden coloured especially with roses, grew endless drills of potatoes, vegetables of all kind, fruit and tomatoes in the glass house all summer long.
For a while he reared pigs having built a sty at the top of the back garden. Sunday was the day of gratitude to God for what he had.
What a lifetime possession of Sunday masses, daily masses, rosaries, devotions, pilgrimages, knowledge of the saints and prayers and living an honest, hardworking life Michael now has to present to the Lord.

LOUGH DERG
And we haven’t mentioned Lough Derg, over 50 years of completing the severe annual three day pilgrimage.
On his last trip not so many years ago, Michael, into his eighties and like a young garsun doing the beds, had the honour of lighting the candle to start the 24 hour prayer/no sleep part of the pilgrimage and word had spread on the island of his long number of years service.
He was treated with such respect, practically reverend even legendary, everyone wished to have a word with him and Michael so appreciated the honour as his precision memory could relate stories from many an earlier decade. Michael would say his final pilgrimage was his favourite.
In the time of the Troubles on the bus journey to the island one year, a bridge had been partially blown up.
Michael instructed all the pilgrims to disembark, walk across the narrow and temporary wheel paths where the bridge used to be and he stood on the bus steps, open door guiding the driver safely across.

LEADER
Always the leader, Michael had many friends he met annually on the island especially Fr Kidney, chaplain of Cork prison- both men had enormous respect for each other.
Michael and Joan’s home in Powerstown was a great place over the decades for social gatherings.
Copious amounts of the best of food always available and to crown an evening off, Michael would sing a few songs, recite lengthy poems.
Seldom would you meet him without Michael uttering some few ‘Cupla Focail’ and he expected you to respond accordingly.
Irish music was Michael’s favourite and he so enjoyed his cousin Eileen visiting from Manchester.
Into his nineties, Michael travelled to both Manchester and Poland. There is scarcely a family name in the wider south Tipperary area Michael was not familiar with.
A few weeks before his passing, Michael was somewhat unresponsive sitting on his chair in the sitting room, but on hearing the voice of his great friend Fr Ahearne, Michael burst into a verse of Slievenamon.
When it came to the card game of 25, Michael was expert and played in all the local halls, perhaps the nine was the game he loved best.

GAA
On his trips to the inter-county GAA matches, Michael could rattle off all the All Ireland winners since 1948- his first All-Ireland, at times swop over to the football and many a full team he could still name.
As Fr Ahearne referenced, Michael attended all church services and prayed for everyone all his life.
Irrespective of which measure one uses in analysing Michael’s individual characteristics, on an annual basis he consistently achieved distinction across all.
If the rest of us even take one characteristic, apply Michael’s high standards and we manage to scrape a pass mark, then we can stand with confidence in front of the Good Lord on the day of judgement.
Michael’s association with his neighbours throughout his long life was akin to extended family members and if anything grew stronger as the years passed.

SENSE OF CARE
This sense of care was returned on a daily basis in recent years as their checking ensured Michael could remain living in his own home right to the end.
When Michael’s health started to slip, rather than move to a nursing home, Michael was blessed with excellent carers, outstanding neighbours some shedding genuine tears at his passing.
Mike referenced in his comprehensive eulogy, the importance of his dad’s neighbours.
The core group of Michael’s neighbours, Michael both cared for and catered for their needs when he was fit and able and this was returned a hundred fold in recent years when Michael at times required a helping hand.

NEIGHBOURS
Daily the neighbours dropped in on him and as Fr Ahearn said “Jim looked after the gardens, kept firewood in” but then anyone involved in Michael’s life in recent years would admit to being in the presence of greatness.
No words can adequately thank Jim, Larry, Ailish, Philly, Paul, Fr Ahearn, June and Eddie, John and Maura, Josephine and countless more for their dedication.
At Michael’s removal, the Prendergast family were so touched and impressed by the huge numbers of former Burkes colleagues and farmers that turned up to pay respect, even many sons and daughters of former workers, who said “Michael meant so much to their parents,” they had never forgotten his influence on their lives.

POWERSTOWN CHURCH
A gentleman at all times, honesty, hard work his hall mark, Michael’s legacy as one of the influential volunteers will always remain the redevelopment of Powerstown Church especially as a decision at regional level had been taken to have it closed.
Never shy of putting pen to paper, Michael’s proven penmanship skills found him to be a formidable character at expressing his viewpoint to those in authority.
Michael Prendergast could fittingly articulate his opinion to anyone on matters that were so important to him.
We extend sympathy to Mike and Uisce; John, Fiona and Isobel; all his relatives, friends, dear neighbours and most especially Miquel his outstanding carer for the past few years, who became a great friend, akin to an adopted son of Michael.
May he always rest in peace.
E.P.