Those We Lost

Recent Irish and Irish American Obituaries

Eugene Byrne
1945-2011

Irish folk singer, festival   organizer and tour guide Eugene Byrne passed away at his home in Dover, N.H. on March 24, after a long battle with cancer. He was 65.

As a folk singer, Byrne, who was born in Dublin, made the stages at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Merv Griffin Show and venues around the world. He worked with several groups including the Garrison Brothers, the New Folk Trio and the Blarney Folk.

Byrne’s dream of starting a local Irish Festival came true in 2003. The Seacoast Irish Festival ran until 2005, when it was discontinued due to local politics, but was brought back in 2010. Byrne was responsible for arranging the festival’s musical acts. He is also remembered as a guide to Ireland. He owned and operated Byrne Entertainment and Tours, and made his tours special by narrating the history of the country through stories, jokes and songs.

Byrne is survived by his wife of 41 years, Maura, two sons, Gene and Kevin, and three grandchildren. He was laid to rest in Finglas, Co. Dublin.

– K.M.

Gil Clancy
1922 – 2011

I met Gil Clancy in 1984, while researching a book about the sport and business of boxing. Gil had already earned acclaim as a hall-of-fame trainer, manager, and matchmaker. At the time, he was providing expert commentary for CBS’s boxing telecasts and also had considerable input into which fights the network bought.Gil viewed me with a healthy dose of skepticism. I was chronicling the exploits of WBC super-lightweight champion Billy Costello and manager Mike Jones. Gil was suspicious of outsiders who appeared on the scene to write about his beloved sport.

“Jesus, Mike,” he demanded at one negotiating session. “Do you have to keep bringing this guy with you all the time?”

“Yes,” Mike told him.

After a while, Gil got used to having me around and a friendship was forged. As the years passed, he became one of my “go to” guys whenever I needed to educate myself on a particular facet of boxing. Eight years ago, I had the pleasure of writing about him for this magazine when he was honored as one of the “Top 100.”

Boxing is a shady business. The warning “protect yourself at all times” applies to action outside the ring as well as in it. Trainer Jimmy Glenn once famously said, “Everybody in boxing wants to screw somebody. They don’t feel comfortable, they think they’re doing something wrong, if they’re not screwing somebody.”

Gil was the antithesis of that. His word was his bond. He was a straight shooter and voice of reason in an often irrational , duplicitous sport. Over the years, he won countless awards for his contributions to the sweet science. He was part of that wonderful group of people who love boxing, understand boxing and ennoble the sport with their presence.

Gil died on March 31 after a long illness at age 88. Boxing and the Irish-American community will miss him.                                  

– Tom Hauser

John J. Concannon
1924-2011

John J. Concannon passed away on March 3 in Austin, TX. He was 86.

Born in the Bronx, NY on July 1, 1924 to Irish immigrant parents, Concannon graduated from the City College and began his journalism career in 1948 in the mailroom of Collier’s Magazine, leaving six years later as the writer of the “What’s New” column. In 1954, he joined Newsweek, where he become the Associate Editor, retiring in 1989.

An active member of the Galway Men’s Association of NY, Concannon worked as the PR director of New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade from 1966-1985. In 1984, he co-wrote The Irish American Who’s Who. He also wrote numerous stories for a multitude of Irish publications, including the Irish Echo. He is survived by his daughters, Allanah Feeney and Mary Helen Foley; his son-in-law Michael Foley; his brother James, of the Irish Christian Brothers; five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. His wife Bridget passed away in 2006.                      – K.R.

Seán Cronin
1920-2011

Seán Cronin died on March 9 in Maryland after a long illness. He was 91.

Cronin was born in Dublin and raised in  Co. Kerry. When he was four, his father, a veteran of the Irish War of Independence, died.

Cronin joined the Irish Army in December 1941 and, upon discharge, moved to the United States. After returning to Dublin in 1955, he joined the Evening Press as a subeditor and volunteered for the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He twice served as IRA Chief of Staff (1957-1958, 1959-1960).

Imprisoned twice for his republican activities, Cronin left the IRA in the early 1960s and returned to the U.S., serving as the first Washington correspondent for The Irish Times until 1991. He also wrote numerous books and pamphlets, including “Washington’s Irish Policy 1916-1986.”

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said of Cronin, “Seán supported the peace process and offered advice and help.”

Cronin’s first wife, Terry, passed away in 1977. He is survived by his second wife Reva Rubenstein Cronin, a step-son Philip and two step-grandsons. Cronin’s ashes were scattered in Iveragh, Co. Kerry.

– K.R.

Lawrence F. Hickey
1910 – 2010

Lawrence Hickey died at his home in Manhattan on March 28. He was 90.

As benefactor and board member of Astor Services for Children and Families from 1981 to 2004, Hickey helped acquire the Little Red School House in the Bronx. The building, which houses an early development program for children with emotional and mental disorders, was later named in his honor.
Born in Brooklyn, Hickey earned a B.A. from Notre Dame. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II before joining his family’s construction business. For his charitable work, Hickey, who was also a board member of the Kennedy Child Study Center, received several awards and honors. He is survived by a son, Frank, daughters, Elizabeth, Magee and Jane, and 11 grandchildren.

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Nster.com