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Tony Forde RIP
The death has taken place of
Tony Forde
Main St, Drumkeeran.
News of Tony Forde’s death brought great sadness to all
because he was a popular and
much loved member of our our community.
Michael Anthony Forde was born on 11th June 1944.
He was the youngest of the seven
children of Patrick & Rose Forde, Main Street.
Tony Forde was probably one of the most travelled
and most widely known members of
our local community.
His job as an AI man meant that he was on the road everyday,
travelling
all across Co.s Leitrim, Donegal, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford and Cavan.
And in all of these counties the local farmers got to know him.
For Tony Forde was
a man who really enjoyed meeting people.
He enjoyed chatting with them about the farming,
the football, the weather etc.
And there was another aspect of his job that he enjoyed.
Tony was a man that loved driving.
His father Patrick was one of the first people
in the town to have a car
and for many years he ran a hackney service for the local
people.
Patrick died when Tony was only 12 years old.
But from his youngest years Tony
had a great interest in cars and,
over they years, he clocked up many many enjoyable
hours
and hundreds of thousands of miles driving to farms all over the countryside.
Another great love of Tony’s was his football.
As a young man he played with Drumkeeran,
and
in latter years he still kept up his interest in the game.
He loved to watch the football
matches on TV
and, in recent years, he was an avid fan of Manchester United.
He was also a man who enjoyed listening to music;
to country music and to traditional
Irish music.
And, of course, the reading of the daily newspaper
was an essential part
of every day for Tony.
But his greatest love was the love he had for his family.
He was a dedicated and loving
husband to Margaret
and a great father to their children, Elaine, Micheál, Orna and
Marcena.
He could never do enough for them.
And, in more recent years, the ten grandchildren
became the delight of his life.
Tony was also a man of faith.
Every Sunday he attended Mass and received Holy Communion.
Two
times every year he would make his pilgrimage to Knock.
His was a simple, basic faith,
a faith that was the foundation stone
of his warmth, goodness and kindness.
Sadly, over the last few years Tony’s health began to decline.
This was especially true over the last twelve months or so.
For the last few months he was resident in Abbey Haven Nursing Home, Boyle.
It was there that he died peacefully in the early hours of Tuesday, 4th November.
The large crowds that attended his removal and funeral bear eloquant witness
to his
popularity and to that of his family.
The Funeral Mass took place on Thursday, 6th November.
He was laid to rest in the family plot in Drumkeeran Cemetery.
Tony Forde is survived by his wife Margaret,
his daughters Elaine, Orna and Marcena,
and
his son Micheál.
He is also survived by his brother Paddy,
and his sisters Kathleen, Margaret and Rosaleen.