Pat McCarthy, RIP, ‘a remarkable man’

A “remarkable man” was how chief celebrant Very Rev John Byrne described the late Pat McCarthy at his funeral Mass in the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar, last Tuesday. Retired Garda McCarthy, father of 10, grandfather and great grandfather, died peacefully on January 28, in his 91st year, and was laid to rest in Marlinstown cemetery.

Members of the Garda Ceremonial Unit officiated at the funeral and laid the tricolour and garda cap on Pat’s coffin.

The funeral Mass was concelebrated by Fr Byrne, retired Administrator in Mullingar, assisted by the current Administrator Very Rev Phil Gaffney, and by close family friend Very Rev Joe Deegan, PP, Clara.

Members of the family brought to the altar gifts symbolising Pat’s life as a loving and caring family man, a dedicated member of An Garda Síochána, a regular contributor of articles to local and national newspapers, including the Westmeath Examiner, a keen gardener and angler, and an expert at footing turf. Family members also read the Lessons and delivered the Prayers of the Faithful and the Reflection.

Fr Byrne welcomed the McCarthy family, including those joining on the worldwide web from Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States. He also welcomed present and retired members of An Garda Síochána.

In his eulogy, Fr Byrne said there was an intensity about Pat McCarthy’s faith; there was no ifs and buts about it, God was there, He was part of the scene and Pat believed that, Fr Byrne remarked.

He said that after his retirement, Pat was nearly on perpetual pilgrimage to places like Lourdes, Knock, Medjugorje and others. Pat told him the pilgrimages were to thank God for the great gift of his family, who had all got on well and had excellent health.

Fr Byrne said Mass was central to Pat’s life. After retirement, morning Mass was not a burden, it was a privilege, and he kept it up almost to the end of his life.

Pat’s care of his family was an extension of his faith, Fr Byrne continued. He was immensely proud of his family, and rightly so. All the extra work he did during his time as a garda, including his work in the bed and breakfast business run by him and his wife May, was to ensure that none of the family would lack anything, particularly in the line of the education that they wanted.

Being a garda was not just a job, it was a vocation. His pride in the force was seen in different ways, but in particular by the fact that three of his sons joined after him. It was as a member of the force that Pat showed his integrity. He enforced the law without fear or favour, but with common sense too.

As the founding chair of the Historical and Reconciliatory Police Society, Pat was driven by an empathy for all those who served the people and the state, Fr Byrne continued.

He remarked that Pat and his wife May were a formidable combination with a high work ethic, and their home in Marlinstown was a centre of hospitality and generosity for everybody. If her illness has any silver lining, it is the fact that she has now been shielded from grieving over Pat’s death, he said.

We are not here today to praise Pat, but to thank God for all the good He did through him. Pat was, in the words of his medical team of the last few months, “a remarkable man”, Fr Byrne concluded.

Pat McCarthy joined the gardaí in 1954. His first posting was to Granard, where he met his wife May Lynch. After four years in Longford, he was transferred to Castletown Geoghegan, where he spent six years, before being reassigned to Mullingar in 1964. Pat retired from the force after 38 years of service.

He was beloved husband of May and cherished father of Ciarán, Finian, Jimmy, Rosemary, Pádraig, Colm, Áine, Finola, Siobhan and Cormac. Pat will be sadly missed by his wife, sons and daughters, sister Josephine, his adored 24 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and many friends.

Pat’s coffin was taken from the cathedral to the strains of Limerick You’re a Lady, in deference to his native Limerick. He was laid to rest in Marlinstown cemetery.