Michael O’Toole

Michael O’Toole, M. Agr Sc., Leenane, Co. Galway

Michael O’Toole died on September 4 after a short illness surrounded by his beloved family.  He was born in Inishturk on January 22, 1932.  After an intermittent primary school education on the island, he started fishing commercially for lobster at the age of 15.  He had many stories about life in the island including farming, being self-sufficient, island recipes, house dances, emigration, and salvaging cargo from sunken ships after the war.  He left Inishturk at age 21 and studied for two years with Fr Joe Moran in Louisburgh, passed the Matriculation examination and went on to university obtaining a Batchelor of Agricultural Science followed by a field research Masters.  He then worked with the Agricultural Institute (now Teagasc) in Glenamoy, Maam and Creagh in Ballinrobe.  He did grassland research, particularly into fertilizer requirements for growing grass on reclaimed bog and was also a renowned expert on Hill Sheep.  He published many papers including a publication in Nature, a major achievement.  He contributed to conferences worldwide and organized an international Hill Lamb conference in Galway in 1984.  He was also a part-time farmer and was often called on to give advice about sheep problems.  He enjoyed adjudicating at sheep shows around the country.    After 30 years, he retired from Teagasc in 1989 and he and his wife, Kathleen, built the Leenane Cultural Centre (now called Leenane Sheep and Wool Centre).  

Michael moved to Leenane with his family in 1970.  He volunteered willingly for many community activities.  In the early 70’s, he worked very hard to help fund-raise for the renovations of Leenane Church.  He formed Kilbride Macra na Tuaithe club for teenagers in 1971 and the club was awarded the National Citizenship award in 1972 and again in 1977 for projects on ‘Our area as part of the E.E.C’ and ‘Mussels in Killary Harbour- a Natural Resource for Development by the Local Community’.  The club also received the prestigious ‘Club of the Year’ award.   He chaired Leenane Development Association (LDA) from its inception in 1988 to 2008. LDA achievements during that time included developing the Community Centre, a football pitch and playground, organizing annual events such as the Walking Festival, Curragh Racing, and Sheep Show, a recent project to eradicate Gunnera (Wild Rhubarb) and a very patient 30 year campaign for a new Sewerage Scheme in Leenane which was completed in 2009.   

In 1989, Michael joined the FORUM board of directors, established by Connemara West some months earlier to administer the poverty 3 programme in North-West Connemara. He was very active in all aspects of the company’s work and served on many of its committees.  During his 20 years service he rarely missed a meeting always arriving early and usually staying on well after the meeting finished.  Recently, he was very involved in the restructuring of FORUM under the government’s cohesion process of compliance for local action groups, and he also contributed substantially to the LEADER Plan which secured up to 10 million euros for the region.  Michael was also a board member of Killary Fish-Farming Coop.  He encouraged many young people to participate in the developing mussel industry in Killary following a successful research programme into farming mussels commercially in the bay.    Michael was the first chairperson and one of the founder members of Connemara Tourism, which was set up in 1990 to market rural Connemara.  Through Michael’s courtesy and encouragement many of the directors got involved in other community groups. His knowledge of the natural traditional Connemara was known world-wide through his dealings with visitors to the area. His greatest wish was to get younger people involved in all aspects of community life.

In his spare time, Michael enjoyed cryptic crosswords and more recently Sudoku.  He was a keen card-player enjoying ‘Twenty-five’ and poker in the local pubs with his friends.   He was a Gaelic football enthusiast and was very proud when Inishturk won the All-Ireland Islands football final in 2008.  He had a great love for the Irish language and enjoyed conversing ‘as Gaeilge’ with MΡirtín O’CadhΡin from Raidio na Gaeltachta about various local issues.  He enjoyed being active and in winter 2009 completed a stone wall along the driveway up to his house, quarrying the stones from the hill behind.

He will be missed by his wife Kathleen, daughters Edel, Orla, Maeve, Áine, Noelle and Aoife; sisters Sr. Anna and Breedge, brother John, grandchildren Sarah, Michael and Eoin, sons-in-law John and Gregg, the extended family and friends.  He was predeceased by his son, MicheΡl, brothers Peter and Martin, and sister Mary.   Following repose at the family home in Leenane on September 5 and 6, the funeral Mass took place on September 7 at 12 midday followed by burial in Leenane cemetery.  Fr Paddy Mooney, Glenamaddy, was the chief celebrant and paid tribute to Michael’s vision for the future and efforts to improve the community in which he lived for everybody.  Con-celebrants included Fr Kieran Burke, Fr John Kenny, Fr Sean O’Leary and Fr MicheΡl Flannery.  A sense of peace and reverence was palpable and the rainy storms of the weekend cleared to a dry, clear day for his burial. 

The final hymn was Our Lady of Knock, symbolising Michael’s love for his native Mayo and his eternal optimism for the Mayo senior football team.  We will miss his stories, his wisdom, sense of humour and mischief, and his lovely, kind smile.   Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís.

Month’s Mind Mass on Sunday, October 4 at 11.30am in St. Michael’s Church, Leenane.

In Memory of Michael O’Toole

I got to know Michael O’Toole in 1974.  He was on the committee of Comharchumann Dhúiche Sheoigheach at the time and as an expert on sheep was invaluable to the committee who had as their primary project the setting up of a Lamb Fattening Station. 

Michael O’Toole was on the Interview Board that resulted in my getting the job as Manager with Comharchumann Dhúiche Sheoigheach.  I understand that he recommended that the fact that I had no knowledge of farming or sheep should not deter the committee from giving me the job.  That, in a fortuitous way, meant that for the last thirty five years I have had the great privilege of knowing Michael. 

In the early years of the Co-Op there were many crises.  As a young Manager, with very little finance and even less experience, many mistakes were made.  In every crisis, no matter how big the mistake, Michael was always reassuring, kind and helpful.  He had a great ability, no matter how big the challenge, to sit down and figure out some solution to every problem.  There is no doubt in my mind that if it had not been for Michael O’Toole CDS Teo. and all the offshoots that it formed, would not be what they are today.  Always unassuming, he was Chairman of the Co-Op during critical years, in which he quietly gave of his time to the Co-Op and to the Joyce Country.

One of my earliest memories of Michael O’Toole is his involvement in the Sheep Show in Leenane.  It was at the Sheep Show that I first met Bina McLoughlin and many other great characters.  Michael’s involvement in Foróige, FORUM, Disability Organisations and many other activities over the years, was always with the one aim, and that was to make things better. 

He was held in high respect throughout the country and was President of the Hill Sheep Farmers Association.  Many times my acquaintance with Michael was a passport to acceptance with very many diverse groups.

Having left Teagasc, Michael embarked on a new career with the Cultural Centre in Leenane.  I watched how, in his inimitable way, he built up a very fine business there, but it was more than a business, it was a focal point in Leenane and a place from which Michael continued to do work within the community.

In recent years, Michael was, as usual, particularly helpful to me when challenges arose.  For a number of years now as Minister, I have been actively working on the whole issue of hill walking and access to land.  Michael knew of my efforts and suddenly he created the Leenane Walking Festival which showed the huge potential of hill walking and the great possibilities of getting landholder agreement and cooperation and more, if it was approached from a community basis by people who had the trust of landowners.  The Leenane Festival helped persuade people that by working together there were huge possibilities in rural tourism.

On another occasion, I asked him to come to Dublin to meet officials from the National Parks and Wildlife Service to discuss the proposed destocking of hills in Connemara with them.  His charm, his knowledge and his patience made a big impression on those he met and in my view helped considerably to improve the arrangements under which the destocking took place. 

When I entered politics, Michael became actively involved in the local Fianna FΡil Cumann in Leenane.  As Secretary of the Cumann, he was a vital link in the local network of the party.  It was a joy to canvass with Michael as he knew everybody in the area and everybody knew him.  I remember one memorable occasion when both Michael O’Toole and Eddie Hamilton, both now gone to their eternal reward, canvassed with me in Leenane.  It was one of the best canvasses I ever did and it was also one of the happiest days I ever had, meeting people and enjoying the banter, particularly between Michael and Eddie.

To Kathleen, who was always a huge support to Michael, and their family, my sincere condolences.

TΡ laoch ar lΡr, fear de bhunú oileΡnda agus fear a mbeidh cuimhne air go ceann i bhfad, go mór mhór an fhad ‘s go mbeidh eagraíochtaí pobail ag feidhmiú i gConamara.

Finally, one happy memory.  Many many years ago, before I got involved in politics, Michael mentioned to me that when my grandfather Éamon de Valera visited Inishturk, his home island, in 1947, he promised the people that they would get a new pier. 

He used tease me that the pier was never built.  It was with some satisfaction, a number of years ago, that through my Department, funding was provided for a new pier in Inishturk and I at last could say to Michael that if my grandfather hadn’t delivered the pier, at least I had!

–Éamon Ó Cuív TD

Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs