6 Spring 2012 Inland Waterways News
OBITUARIES
TOM MAHER
The first time I came on the Shannon and I met Tom Maher I thought it was a unique privilege as he came alongside in his smart little speedboat and offered to take us out for a spin on the river. Later he invited us to come up to the Bush Hotel for complementary showers. What is surprising is that day in the early sixties was just a typical day for Tom. Many people have shared this privilege, and many have taken to the river because of Tom. This was the nature of his generosity and his enthusiasm for all things river related and life in general. In those early years of the Carrick branch it was Tom, Bill, Doc and Brendan that got things done in Carrick: jetties (alas now gone), a slipway on the Roscommon shore, and the opening of Clarendon Lock, Knockvicar, letting boats back into Lough Key. He was quietly instrumental in bringing Emerald Star and Carrick Craft to Carrick. They put water on the quay wall with their own hands. Tom, using his many connections constantly canvassed for the successful reopening of the B&B Canal and the moorings at Townpark – huge achievements in the depressed economic environment of the time. All this time meeting visiting boats. Tom was a true ambassador for Carrick and the inland waterways. He was Chairman of the Carrick branch for more than ten years and there were many times that he needed his renowned sense of humour. After The Bush Hotel came Hollywell, a new chapter in his and Rosaleen’s life. Together with the family they turned a shell of a house into one of Ireland’s premier B & Bs. His involvement with CERT and various tourism groups brought out his love of sharing with others how to do it right. His family live on in his image enjoying successful careers and still having the craic with the river and the people it attracts
My son Robby and Tom’s son Conor competed in the Shannon Rally open boat competition one extremely wet summer nearly thirty years ago. To this day Robby recalls Tom appearing like magic in Lecarrow at about their lowest point and producing two of the Bush Hotel’s renowned Steak Dinners, still steaming under tinfoil. They kept it very quiet in case the judges took a dim view of their idea of self sufficiency. Tom and I went through therapy from our respective wives on our inability to pass a skip or to go to the dump and come back empty. Tom’s personal best was probably a trailer full of used mushroom compost. Although we convinced our respective partners we were on the mend, we did have clandestine meetings to discuss skips and their contents.
Tom’s funeral was befitting the man, quite and dignified. It was the nearest Carrick has seen to a lying in state. Rosaleen and the family stood from before noon‘til nearly six o’clock, greeting and receiving sympathy from over five hundred friends who queued for up to an hour to commiserate with them. Stewards had to manage the crowds at both the removal and the funeral. After fifty years it is hard to think that Tom is not coming down the jetty with Rosaleen and the dog and all the epicurean treats in the picnic basket. To Rosaleen, Claire, Conor, Tom D, and Ronan, thanks for sharing this great man with us, may he rest in peace and his rivers be tranquil.
Paul Garland