Tributes paid to the late Tommy McLoughlin – ‘a massive Spurs fan’

Many tributes have been paid to the late Thomas McLoughlin of Coyne, Loughnavalley, who died tragically on Wednesday last, September 15. Tommy, as he was better known, is remembered as a kind, friendly, obliging man, a “massive” Spurs fan and a diligent and skilful cameraman at Mullingar Greyhound Stadium. Others will remember him from his years working in the fruit and vegetable section in Tesco, Mullingar, and subsequently at SuperValu in Moate.

The esteem in which he was held was evident from the numbers lining the route as Tommy’s funeral cortège made its way to Ballyglass Cemetery last Sunday. A guard of honour was formed by members of Mullingar Spurs Supporters Club and fans of other Premier League clubs as well as greyhound owners and trainers from around the country, with their dogs decked out in red racing jackets. There was no racing at the Mullingar track last weekend as a mark of respect to their friend and colleague.

Leading the tributes has been Tommy’s friend and fellow Spurs fanatic, Colin Waters. Colin, chairperson of the Mullingar Spurs supporters club, recalled how the two became friends at school. “We were both supporters of Tottenham Hotspur and that was what brought us together,” he said.

In the 1990s they talked about setting up a supporters club, but it was only six years ago that they joined forces with Robert Barr and Tommy Carroll and finally did so. “We bit the bullet and put the word out and now we have a pretty decent Mullingar Spurs Supporters Club. We were planning to head over to a match in March and Tommy would have definitely been a part of that trip.”

Colin said Tommy was the biggest Spurs supporter he ever knew. “I only saw him once that he didn’t have a Spurs jersey or top on, apart from at work, and that was at my wedding!

“He was the first person you met when you went in to Tesco – he and Decline Clyne were in charge of fruit and veg section.”

Colin recalls an occasion when he went grocery shopping with his wife, but when he stopped to talk to Tommy, she went ahead with the trolley and she “had the whole shopping done and she picked me up where I was in the exact same spot, still chatting”.

Colin spoke of the outpouring of grief in the town since news of Tommy’s untimely death broke. “No one had a bad word to say about him. He was the heart and soul of the Ginnell Terrace, Dalton Park area, where he grew up, and he had a deep love of that area.”

Tommy’s passing will leave a void in a lot of people’s lives, Colin remarked. He said people “will miss the craic and banter out of him and the slagging he would give the Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal fans on Facebook whenever Spurs won (or lost). It was all honest banter and good craic and no one ever got offended.”

Colin said a lot of rival fans have put up the Spurs logo as their profile pictures on Facebook since Tommy died. “I have never seen fans do that before and it shows the esteem in which Tommy was held.”

Tommy’s father, Deano, died last May. Deano had also worked as cameraman at Mullingar Greyhound Track and it was he who introduced Tommy to the business. Tommy also worked as cameraman in Longford Greyhound Track and he was well known in the racing world.

Graham Temple, commentator at Mullingar Greyhound Stadium, said Tommy was a great friend – a nicer man you could not meet – he’d do anything for you. He said that Tommy had been working at the greyhound track for about 20 years. He was loved by everyone in the greyhound racing fraternity and his death was a “massive blow”.

As a cameraman, Tommy was diligent and always anxious to “improve his unrivalled skills”, zooming in on dogs at the precise moment. “Many a night he would add to the atmosphere by playing ‘let’s see who is at the dogs tonight’ and he’d zoom in on someone in the crowd and they’d then come up on the big screen.”

Tommy loved greyhounds, although he never owned one, and he delighted in the successes of those who did, Graham said. “He will be greatly missed by everyone at the track and everyone associated with it,” he added.

He said that trainers and owners from around the country came with their greyhounds decked out in red racing jackets to join the guard of honour at Tommy’s funeral and to pay their respects to the family of a man they admired and loved.

When he left Tesco, Mullingar, Tommy went to work in SuperValu in Moate. Graham said that Tommy’s manager when he worked in the Mullingar store told him there was no better man to sort out stock and if Tommy was there, you knew it would all be perfect.

He went on to say that people who worked with Tommy at the Mullingar dog track are devastated by the news of his death. He mentioned Darren Creevy, the groundsman, Siobhan Dolan, who worked as a judge there for years, and is now in Canada, and Graham’s son, David, who is also a commentator at the stadium. “We all had our jobs, but we were more like a family than workmates, sharing the chocolates and the treats, having the chat and the banter. The track will never be the same again.

“Tommy loved his work at the dogs and the only time he was missing was if he was gone to a Spurs match, once in a blue moon. He built up a lot of friends in the greyhound racing world and he will be sadly missed,” Graham concluded.

Tommy will be sadly missed by his loving wife Ann Marie, his heartbroken children Aaron, Shane and Lauren, his mother Bernie, sisters Caroline, Yvonne, Stephanie, Maggie and Siobhan, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, father-in-law Tom, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, extended family, neighbours and a wide circle of friends.

Tommy’s removal took place from his home to the Church of the Assumption, Loughnavalley for funeral Mass on Sunday with burial afterwards in Ballyglass cemetery, Mullingar. Tommy’s funeral cortège travelled via Woodlands, Patrick Street and Green Road, Mullingar.