The death of an Irish Legend.PJ Furey.

[tommyc]

A legend of Irish Draughts has passed away.I think PJ was abt 94 or 95 and has played the game for more than 70 yrs.......a gentleman in every way and i often thought of visiting him alas he is gone. We did visit on him some yrs ago myself and Myles while in Carlow and he always kept the board at the ready for passing victims.We had tea made by his wife Peg and daughter who was visiting at the time i remember. God Rest him in peace.I remember he would have been open to a few wee "1/2 uns" and was surprised to see him ride the bike home afterwards from the Hotel.Of course he was legendry in his oration of great Irish Limericks and stories,or Dangerous Dan McGrew at social times during Tournaments he could take 15-20 minutes out of them,how he remembered it all god only knows.R.I.P my old friend you were a true legend..........in yur own lifetime.

PS......I recall when we last played a few years ago i made a mistake jumping the wrong way and went a man down but luckily getting it back and winning the game ...to which PJ said "that must be one of your NEW cooks to which i replied YES.............and PJ said "you must show me it sometime" .!!!

The death has occurred of P.J. (Pat) FUREY of 22 Hillview Drive, Rathnapish, Carlow

Retired Garda Sergeant, formerly of Oranmore, Co. Galway.

Beloved husband of Margaret (Peg) and dear father of Sean, Anna, Mary, Regina, Patricia, Bernadette and the late Syl. Sadly missed by his loving family, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, brother-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives and a wide circle of friends.

May P.J. Rest in Peace.

Reposing from 7pm on Thursday in R. Healy & Son Funeral Home Pollerton Castle with rosary at 7.30pm. Removal on Friday evening at 6.45pm to the Church of the Holy Family, Askea to arrive for 7pm. Funeral Mass on Saturday at 10.30am. Burial afterwards in St. Mary’s Cemetery.

Date published: Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Date of death: Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Tommy Canning PRO IDA.

[S_McCosker]

R.I.P to the iron man of Irish draughts PJ Furey.

Shane McCosker

[Palomino]

My condolences to his family and to all of his draughts playing friends. I thought it would be good to add his picture.

[tommyc]

Thank you PAL its a good likeness of PJ .......without his usual capeen on.!!

[Palomino]

Another nice picture of him which was posted here on the fourm last year. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2534

[Palomino]

I found a poem by P.J. "Kilkenny Five in a Row"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyT8hqo2P9I

And below is a link to another poem P.J. wrote when President Obama visited Ireland.
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/05/17/pure-poetry/

[tommyc]

PAL................I thank you on behalf of us all and PJ s family too for showing us that clip of the" IRON MAN " of Irish Checkers as he was dubbed by Shane Mc Cosker when he ran a close second to Shane when he won the Irish Senior in 06/07 .And Shane tells me the ONLY player to take a game of him in that Ty............and he was 88yrs yrs old then..................Amazing.

[tommyc]

PJ shared the refereeing duties with H.Devlin some yrs ago [in the 1980s] when Con McCarrick defended his title.

[liam stephens]

Got back last night after attending P. J.'s funeral.
There must have been over 200 in the congrgation attending the funeral Mass and burial afterwards. Joe Maguire - Chairman, and Bill Dobbins - Treasurer, were among those attending on behalf of the IDA.

Last Wednesday he visited his local community centre, and had a game of draughts with the local priest. Later he became unwell and passed away in the company of his friends and colleagues.

At the Requiem Mass,one of his daughters gave a wonderful tribute to PJ, outlining his life and times. He was 97 years of age. There was a Guard of Honour provided by the members of the Garda Siochana (Irish police force) who carried his coffin. PJ was a retired Garda sergeant. He was well known in the community and famous for his recitations and poems, throughout the country.

May he rest in peace.


Below is another poem by PJ:

Some Noted Irish Draughts Players

Oh my name is Paddy Furey,
In Carlow Town I dwell,
My hobbies are quite many
As sporting folk can tell.
I love a game of snooker,
And I love a game of darts,
But the game I cherish most of all
Is that lovely game of draughts.

Oh I am always happy,
And I never have a care,
As I sit down to play my game,
Against an Irish player.
I played famed Pat McCarthy,
A Cork man ever true,
He did beat the best in Ireland,
England, Wales and Scotland too.

Next I have in mind Hugh Devlin,
Much admired by one and all,
With cups and titles to no end,
He's the pride of Donegal.
And Sligo's staunch promorter,
Con McCarrick is his name,
He is known the world over,
As a draughts player of great fame.

Jim McCarthy and Liam Stephens,
McNamara and Cuddihy,
Brian and stout John Cunningham,
And bold Mike O'Shaughnessy.
And up in Dublin City,
Paddy Doyle he seldom yields,
To Jim Dillon, Paddy Byrne,
Billy Kelly or Peter Shiels.

I am proud to mention others,
I have played them years ago,
Arnold Fitzpatrick from Mohill,
And Frank Moran from Mayo.
Tom Templeton and Paddy Hughes,
John Kyle and Paddy Havlin,
Bob Patterson, Bill Mulligan,
Pat Ward and Charlie Devlin.

Peter Keirns and John Dolan,
Alan Ramsey and Tom Ross,
John Sweeney, Logue and Johnston,
And Father Denis loved the Cross.
Eamon Greene and Tommy Canning,
Sean Carlin and Myles Hannigan,
Tony Lagan, Tom O'Donnell,
John McKay and Michael Rhategan.

Charlie McKenna, Frank Mcnonald.,
Jackson, Whitechild and Gilcreest,
Murphy, Sommerville and Patsy Quinn
Crafty players to say the least.
Peadar Sweeny, Leech and Russell,
McGovern and McNamee,
John Keenan and O'Loughlln,
Owens, O'Dea and Sean McGee.

Brothers Mick and Vincent Beirne,
Vincent Kelly and Ber Canning.
Paddy Brennan and John Davis,
John Preston and Ger Manning.
Brendan Murray and Bill Dobbins,
Paddy McKenna and Liam Doyle,
Joe Maguire and Dessie Mellon,
Mick O'Dowd and Con O'Boyle.

I encountered Sammy Nelson,
McElroy and McGlynn,
O'Gara, Rodgers and McGurk,
Duffy, Maher and Mylie Flynn.
Liam Harkin outside Derry,
And John McElhone of fame,
McNally and Shane McCosker,
Budding champions soon again.

I played Wexford men, Jim Somers,
And the skilful Jim O'Brien,
Also Carlow's Timmy Gleeson,
Michael Brennan and Tommy Ryan.
The Breens are noted Carlow players,
All five of them are that,
Patricia, Karena, Ann Maria,
Elaine and father Pat.

Brave Patricia won us glory,
In April 'Ninety Three,
The Ladies World Title,
She brought home across the sea.
This Crown she'll hold for many years,
No trouble to this Queen,
And should she ever part with it,
There is a younger Breen.

So here's a toast to every player,
To all I give their due,
And hope each name attains great fame,
'Ere I bid my last adieu.

P.J.Furey

[tommyc]

Ah nice one there Liam...................is was sorry we didnt make the "last farewell" so ill write a wee card for the family later.I couldnt find a phone number.He LL be in our thoughts ...RIP.............The Iron Man of Irish Draughts the great PJ.Furey.


HUMAN..............A small tribute to the "Iron" man.

Xmas is coming, as 012 nears its end!!
Pray for my friend P.J., and all our absent friends
How human we are to differ, as people often do
So heres a toast to whom we love the most, and all our enemies too.

And as we travel oer the road , to await another year
Drink eat be merry, and “thank God to be here"
Be happy for what "er" ye have, and for what ye have not
And making sure those left and gone , are gone but not forgot.

Sure we re all just one big family, in one big melting pot.
What er your politics or your creed, that point matters not.
Cos 013 will be coming soon, and like a carousel
We ll all behave like last year, sure tis human,…………….what the hell.!!

Happy Xmas and New Year to friend and foe alike.!!! Tommy Canning Ireland.

[tommyc]

Heres another one PJ. penned especially for the IRISH OPEN Buncrana 2010.NISHOWEN FESTIVAL OF DRAUGHTS 2007

Oh come all ye players ,please do not delay
Make haste to Buncrana the All-Ireland to play
O er the end of October,you can show off your skill
At that beautiful venue the Gateway Hotel.

Many players are coming,from Limerick to Clare
From Dublin to Carlow,Meath Louth and Kildare
Ron King from Barbados,will be there for a cert
So will Hugh Devlin,the Letterkenny expert

They ll be over from Scotland and the fair Isle of Wight
With Tyrone and Derry,to show us their might
Fromm Russia comes Champion the brave Moiseyev
We admire his talents,or exhibitions he gave.

The great Con McCarrick will be there in style
And Dublins famed Master the great Paddy Doyle
And other great players will be there to a man
From England and Wales and Turkmenistan.

Sure Amangul Durdyeva a lassie of note.
Takes on Patricia Breen whom she hopes to demote.
But we back our Colleen we trust her the while.
A great World Champion and the pride of our Isle.

We all wish and hope… that this Ty will gain,
International publicity honor and fame
So when you are sporting and feeling so well.
Make haste to Buncrana and the Gateway Hotel.

This is a poem I came upon while rummaging around today……sent to me last year just before the All-Ireland by that mighty man ,91 yrs old ex-Garda Sergent P.J Furey (Carlow).Hope you enjoyed it....................



(The Legend) P.J Furey (Carlow Ireland 2007)

[Palomino]

I'm sure that if I'd know P.J. (and I wish that I had) it would have been a blessing. It seems that he was a special person. I love both draughts and poetry and when they come rapped up in the same package that's special and such a person doesn't come along very often.

I put you in that special group also Tommy and I'm sure P.J. would be thrilled to know you took the time to write the above tribute poem to him.

I really enjoyed P.J. poem that Liam shared with us, it was great! So my thanks go to you Tommy and also to Liam for sharing these things about this remarkable man.

"Pal"

[tommyc]

Yes PAL......He was a bit special was P.J.