The people of Carrick-on-Suir bid farewell to their beloved poet Michael Coady

The hearse carrying writer and poet Michael Coady’s remains stopped at Carrick-on-Suir’s Old Bridge after his Requiem Mass as Carrick-on-Suir Brass Band plays a Duke Ellington tune in tribute to him. Picture Anne Marie Magorrian

Carrick-on-Suir’s renowned poet Michael Coady was remembered for the richness he brought to people’s lives as a writer, educator and musician at his funeral on Easter Monday.

St Nicholas Church in Carrick was packed with mourners for the Requeim Mass for the retired primary school teacher who has left behind a beautiful legacy of poetry and prose much of which chronicled his hometown, its people and natural world.

Mr Coady from Cláirín, Carrick-on-Suir passed away on Monday, March 25 at the age of 84 surrounded by his family.

He was the author of six collections of poetry and a collection of essays among other works and his poetry earned him the Patrick Kavanagh and Lawrence O’Shaughnessy awards.

He wrote a column for The Nationalist for many years and was a member of Aosdána, the academy for artists who have made an outstanding contribution to the creative arts in Ireland.

Mr Coady’s funeral Mass was a fitting celebration of his life filled with music, song and his poetry.

The ceremony, concelebrated by four priests, began with symbols of Mr Coady’s life being brought to the altar.

They included his old school briefcase recalling his career as a teacher at the Green School CBS in Carrick; a notebook where he jotted down his ideas for his writing; the mouthpiece of his trombone highlighting his love of music and some celadine flowers representing his deep love of nature.

Some of his most loved poems: “Though There Are Torturers”, “Home” from the Going By Water anthology and “Benediction On The 16th Day of May” were recited during the Mass.

His eclectic musical taste was evident in the music, hymns and songs performed throughout the ceremony that ranged from classical and traditional Irish to pop.

Carrick-on-Suir Brass Band, which he conducted for many years and played in as a trombonist, performed at the Mass as did renowned Carrick-on-Suir singer Mala Raggett.

In a homily sprinkled with references to Michael’s writings, chief celebrant Fr Jimmy Browne said it was a day to give thanks for Michael’s life and “to the richness he brought to all our lives in so many ways”.

He spoke of the high regard Michael Coady was held in by his past pupils at the Green School CBS. His great gift was to recognise that every child has a capacity to learn.

Fr Browne recalled meeting a man that morning who recounted to him how Michael Coady was the only teacher who educated him in primary school.

“I ended up in his class a complete and utter clown, I could hardly write my name,” the man told Fr Browne.

“There were six of us like that and he set us up in a space in the classroom on our own. He got the school books from 1st to 6th class and at the end of the year he had us as good as anyone else. Only for him, we wouldn’t have had a chance or a future.”

Fr Browne also spoke of Michael’s love of nature and how so much of his poetry came from that love. The river Suir flowing through his hometown was hugely important in his work.

He said Michael noted the simple things as he went around the town and could turn even the sight of a chil’'s dolls spotted in the water near the Old Bridge into a poem.

He had “an extraordinary capacity to capture a whole concept and encapsulate it in a few words”.
Fr Browne also paid tribute to Michael Coady’s humble nature.

“There was a wonderful humility about him. He never pretended to be anything other than one of his. He wore his learning very lightly.”

Fr Browne concluded: “This is a day to give thanks for the life of Michael Coady, to the richness he brought to all our lives in so many ways.

“He would also want me to thank Carrick and the people of Carrick for everything you gave to him in his life.

“He was deeply, deeply conscious that whatever awards and prizes he won, they were yours as well as you provided the material to create those poems.”

The funeral Mass concluded with a recitation of Michael Coady’s “Lingaun Way” by his friend of 60 years Seamus McGrath and Carrick Brass Band with Mala Raggett performing the Beetles’ "Let It Be".

In the spring sunshine, Carrick Brass Band led the the hearse carrying Michael Coady’s remains and the large funeral cortege of mourners in procession through Carrick-on-Suir town centre, stopping briefly outside Carrick Town Hall.

The procession finished at the Old Bridge where the Brass Band performed a final musical tribute to their former bandmaster - Duke Ellington’s jazz hit “Take The A Train”.

Michael Coady is survived by his beloved wife Martina, their children Niamh, Lucy and James; his sisters Dorothy, Áine and Joan; his grandchildren Patrick, Clementine, Annie Mai, Elizabeth and Cion. May he rest in peace.