Tributes paid to Brian Reidy, ‘a great singer and a handy golfer’

Mullingar has lost one of its most popular residents this week, with the death of businessman Brian Reidy.

Generous, kind, entertaining; a great singer and a handy golfer are the ways friends and colleagues are remembering this Kilkenny man who embraced life in Westmeath with both arms while never surrendering his affection for his native county.

Brian’s career – like that of his father before him – was spent in the area of insurance, and he was one of the faces of Dominick Street, working for many years with Hibernian Insurance, and later across the road with Davitt and Davitt. Changes in the insurance networks over time meant that he spent time also with Campion Insurance and Aviva; he also operated his own brokerage for a time. Indeed, he never fully retired from the field, and despite turning 70 in March of this year, he still did loss adjustment assessments.

Born in College Road, Kilkenny, he was son of Liam and Mary Reidy. Liam was a noted hurler, and won an All-Ireland with Kilkenny in 1947. Liam was also a golfer and was president of the then Golfing Union of Ireland in the 1990s.

Like his father, Brian was a fan of hurling, lining out at youth level with the James Stephens Club in Kilkenny. He enjoyed the fact that he played alongside current Kilkenny manager and hurling legend Brian Cody – and was tickled to get a mention in Cody’s autobiography.

After school, Brian moved to Canada for a spell. When he returned, he took up his first position in insurance, a job with Hibernian Insurance in Dublin.

After a transfer to Donegal for a time, Brian was appointed to Mullingar in 1983, and in 1989, he became manager of the Mullingar office.

Rapidly, he became immersed in life in Mullingar, and was for many years the mainstay of the Mullingar Tidy Towns committee, holding the position of chairman.

In line with his generosity of spirit, he also took an active voluntary role in the Training and Development Agency in Mullingar, established in 1986 and located on Bishop’s Gate Street. Golf was a long-standing passion, and he was deeply involved in the golf club in Mullingar, becoming captain there in 1996, and serving as president in 2014-2015.

Brian was known as a very fine singer. As a young man, he joined the famed Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society, and through his involvement with two of their productions in the 1970s – The Mikado and Fiddler on the Roof – he was proud to have performed on stage at the Gaiety Theatre.

He was a kind man, a good friend, generous and helpful; he knew everyone and had a friendly word for all.

Brian was the much-loved husband and best friend of Cepta and dear father of Elaine, Yvonne and Mary.

His death on Sunday (June 19) came peacefully but unexpectedly, with his devoted wife and family by his side, in the care of the staff at the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar.

Predeceased by his parents Liam and Mary and his brothers Eamon and Brendan, Brian will be very sadly missed by his heartbroken wife and family, his adored grandchildren Brian, Chloe, Jack, Katie, John, Roisín, Isabel and Tadhg; his sons-in-law Paul and Brian; his brothers Sean, Liam, Joe, Ger and Dermot; his sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, his former work colleagues at Hibernian Insurance and his many friends, especially those in Mullingar Golf Club.

Brian’s remains are reposing at his home at Beechgrove today, Tuesday, from 4pm to 7pm, and his funeral Mass is on Wednesday at 11am in the Cathedral of Christ the King, followed by burial in St Andrew’s Cemetery, Multyfarnham.

Brian’s funeral Mass may be viewed live on www.mullingarparish.ie.