Good Friday is a day of huge significance in my life for both private and public reasons.
On the private front, it has always been a day of mourning in our family as it was the day on which my famous uncle, Captain Michael Tubridy, died. Uncle Michael was Dad’s kid brother. They grew up in Kilrush, Co. Clare ~ 5 brothers and 4 sisters~ their mother, my grandmother died when Dad was twelve. Their father, who was a busy veterinary surgeon, devoted his life to nurturing this large family.
There was immense sporting talent among the nine kids but it was Michael who rose to huge national and international fame, particularly in the UK and right across America and Canada. They always had horses in Kilrush but it was when he joined the Irish Army Equitation School that his horsemanship was really noticed and nurtured. He went on to become one of the world’s leading show jumpers and died as a result of a freak accident on Good Friday, 1954, at the tender age of 31.
While I never knew Uncle Michael, I am fiercely proud to be the the niece of this amazingly talented man. He won an All-Ireland football medal with Cork in 1945, playing along side Jack Lynch, who later became the Taoiseach of Ireland. According to Father, he could run like the wind, had brains to burn and was an absolute natural when it came to horses. To my eye, he was also extremely handsome and he comes across from his widow, Dot, as being an absolute romantic and the ultimate soul mate.
Good Friday also stands out for me because of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 which was so significant in terms of bringing peace in Northern Ireland. I grew up in Co.Monaghan and Co. Louth, close to the border with Northern Ireland, and found the Troubles and loss of life in the North absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking. The fact that there was a religious element to it made it all the more poignant to me as I am a child of a loving mixed marriage.
Reading through Dad’s scrapbooks today, I am so struck by the words of tribute from Colonel Harry Llewellyn of the English Team, who was Uncle Michael’s main rival on the international scene:
We have lost a very great friend and a most charming person against whom to compete in international riding contests…..He was a very great ambassador for Ireland.
There are no politics between horsemen, and the members of the English and Irish jumping teams who have met each other in so many international competitions since the war became very close friends. It is terribly sad to feel that Tubridy will no longer be with us. He was a beautiful rider and an exceedingly charming person…..’
My abiding hope today is that peace will reign in Northern Ireland and that the memory of Captain Michael Tubridy will long be remembered, especially in his beloved Co. Clare.
SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland 
The best ones die young. Thank you Jean for this poignant piece of social history. I have a tenuous connection with you then – my father was a hurling contemporary of Jack Lynch, though never at county level. He played for the Dohenys (Dunmanway) whilst Lynch was with the famous Glen Rovers. He never claimed to have ridden a horse however, even after a pint or two!
Roy, thanks for writing. What a small world it is! No doubt the pair of them met at club games in Cork in the 1940s!
Very poignant Jean – souls that pass through this earth do leave their finger prints. My mother, whose maternal line BTW are from Inniskeen, Co. Monaghan & next door neighbours to Patrick Kavanagh, had a brother who was elecrocuted in the early 50s. He was 19 and is remembered as a young man w so much potential, heart and kindness. Love how you weave the past and present, macro & micro, personal and global together.
CF, many thanks for writing and for your kind comments.
I agree that people who pass through most certainly leave finger prints and indeed footprints. No doubt the fact that your family experienced something similar to my ours lends to a deep understanding of the way the marks tend to be remembered and recognised ~ even generations later.
It’s difficult to find educated people for this subject, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
MM, thanks for writing. I think the important thing to recognise is the sensitivity of the subject.
It’s no nice to read that there are more Tubridy’s in the world. Apparently my Great Granddad was Captain Michael’s Cousin although I have yet to figure out the connection yet for myself but it’s nice to hear that there’s a lot more to possibly find in the Family Tree.
Sarah.
Hi Sarah, lovely to hear from you and I’d love to know more about the connection. Sounds like we could be cousins??
I am a tubridy my father was Terence Thomas Michael tubridy his father was married to Blanche and I think his grandfather was a brother to captain Michael Tubridy
Hi Teresa, great to hear from you. With a name like ours, no doubt we’re cousins!
What was your grandfather’s christian name? There were 5 boys in Dad’s family, one of whom was Capt Michael. The three other than Michaelvand my father were Patrick, Gerard and William. (Interestingly, Patrick who lived most of his life in Belfast had a son Terry.)