Captain David O’Flaherty ~ Lovingly Remembered in Friendship

Monument in Memory of the Irish Air Corps Helicopter Crew who died tragically on July 2, 1999

I’ve been acutely aware since I started this blog that the Tramore Beach I love with such a passion is a place that spells absolute sadness for others. The families of the four crew members who were killed in the horrific Irish Air Corps helicopter crash on July 2, 1999 tend to be foremost in my mind in this context and I suspect this is because hardly a day goes by that I don’t pass the hauntingly beautiful monument which was erected in their memory on the Promenade here in Tramore.

Back in 2012, I wrote a post about the four brave men who died on that fateful night on their way back from a Rescue Mission Tramore Remembers Brave Air Corps Helicopter Crew.  It was a post that received no ‘public’ attention at the time but it is one that touched the heart of a great friend of one of the crew, Captain David O’Flaherty, who, for me,  up to that point was one of the four names poignantly carved on the monument:

This short comment from Rory, which I received on a dark evening back in January, has opened a door into the wonderful person and handsome face behind these 9 words:

Hi Jean, True heroes of Ireland, as are all the men and women of the Air Corps and Coast Guard. Captain David O’Flaherty was my best friend and I miss him very dearly…..

David O’Flaherty

Rory and I have exchanged many emails since January and it transpires that he and David had been friends since early childhood. Here’s an insight into the depth of their friendship and the way their lives were interwoven.

David and I were best buds in school. We went on a trip to London (by ourselves) when we were 14  and went to an air show in Hendon, London. After that he wanted to be a Pilot.

David went to UCD with my wife (my girlfriend at the time) to do a science degree and was recruited into the Cadets in the Curragh immediately.

David and Maria got married in Baldonnel and what a brilliant day that was …..

Maria was 3 months pregnant (so was my wife) when the lads were killed so he never got to see his beautiful daughter …..

This year marks the 15th Anniversary of the tragic helicopter crash in Tramore and I feel honoured to have been able to ‘get to know’  Captain David O’Flaherty through his loyal friend. Interestingly, when I asked Rory if there was a song or poem or some words that he associated with David, his response was in the form of the motto of the Irish Air Corps Search and Rescue Service:

“Go Mairidís beo”, (That Others May Live)

Captain David O’Flaherty

Dear Mr Congreve …

White Seat,

Mount Congreve Garden,

Kilmeaden,

Co. Waterford,

Ireland.

 9th May, 2014

 

Dear Mr Congreve,

It seems only natural to write to you as I sit here in your garden basking in beauty, birdsong, blazing azaleas, a flowing view down to the blue Suir and even bluer hills beyond.

There’s a soft breeze swaying through the fresh leaves of the tall trees that are providing me with perfect shelter in the sunshine.

It’s all so calm and inspirational – a hare has just run passed, ears tall, eyes fixed on the path ahead.

I was just looking at the Quercus Caslaneifolia ‘Green Spire’ which the Royal Horticultural Society presented to you on April 4, 2007, in houour of your 100th birthday.

You are someone who knows the meaning of ‘long life’ and the nearest person to me who lived to be 104.

Your legacy to Ireland and the world is truly magnificent. Mount Congreve Garden brings endless pleasure to everyone who visits.

I come here every week and see it as my Garden of Eden. The weekly changes never cease to amaze me and you’ll probably laugh at this but the ONE thing I photograph every single time I’m here is the heart on the iron gate at the very far end of the Garden.

It’s like my anchor here and always makes me think of the love you poured into making this a place for all seasons; full of colour, nooks, crannies, steps, tiny paths, sweeping avenues, vistas of water and plants.

I hope you’ll smile, too, when I tell you that I’d love to be Mount Congreve’s Writer in Residence. To tell the truth, I half see myself as that already! Yes, Mount Congreve is like home to me and fills me with a sense of  absolute peace and gratitude every time  I come here.

Your spirit pervades the Garden and today it rings out most of all through the delicious carpets of bluebells.

Thanks for giving me this haven and for your comforting presence.

With love and a gentle kiss through the scented air,

Jean

 

 

Saturday Sense ~ Warm Hands

Mother and Me

One of the most precious feelings I know is the warmth of a ‘wrinkled old hand’  in mine.  The reassuring squeeze that makes everything okay; that is the embodiment of empathy and true love.

When I was about five, I remember cuddling up to my mother in bed and holding her hand.

I love your wrinkles, I said, meaning it with all my heart.

Mother was only in her early forties then. She had lovely soft, warm skin and hardly a wrinkle then, or indeed ever in her long life.

I see now why she was rather taken aback by my remark. I think it made her feel very old but it’s her hands that I think of today, especially after reading this gem of a poem:

 The Little Boy and the Old Man

Said the little boy, “Sometimes I drop my spoon.”

Said the old man, “I do that too.”
The little boy whispered, “I wet my pants.”
“I do that too,” laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, “I often cry.”
The old man nodded, “So do I.”
“But worst of all,” said the boy, “it seems
Grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.”
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
“I know what you mean,” said the little old man.

(Shel Silverstein)

CONnECTIOn, coNnectiOn, CoNnecTiON …..

When you pick a word like ‘Connection’ as a theme around which to write for a year, you find your head, heart, imagination foraging  and embroiled in the most amazing places. For example, this morning I’m thinking about railways and train journeys!

Railway Lines
Photo: Frank Tubridy

Right now, I’m sitting here in Tramore, Co. Waterford, Ireland on a stormy Sunday morning at 7.37 a.m. and I’m wondering what Connection conjures up for all you fellow bloggers around the world.

Would you be sweet and kind enough to tell me what flies into your head, heart, imagination when you see that common, yet complex, word:

C

o

N

N

e

c

T

I

0

N

Come Lean into Me ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 304

Festival of Colour, Creativity and Connection

Connection is a complex word but this evening I glimpsed one of its loveliest faces:

Let’s follow the sun,

my Love, and breathe in her soul.

Come lean into me.

Colour, Creativity and Connection ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 291

Festival of Colour, Creativity and Connection

As we prepare to greet November, I would like to invite you to join me in the Inaugural Festival of Colour, Creativity and Connection which I am planning for the month of November here on Social Bridge.

The aim of the Festival is to bring warmth and colour (in all senses) to the darkest month of the year.  I associate November very much with both Remembrance and Thanksgiving, broadly defined, even though we don’t celebrate these days here in Ireland.

If  you would like to share a photograph, drawing, painting, poem, piece of prose or any combination of these which you feel represents Colour, Creativity and Connection, please leave a comment or email me at jeantubridy@aol.com.

Let’s build a few bridges over the next four weeks!

Bridge on the Green Road, near Waterford City