By John O’Brien, Jr.
April is National Poetry Month –
seek the prose, below, in Blowin’in, Speak Irish Cle, and in Donnybrook.
To me, there is usually no poetry in death. Especially when someone is young and in their prime.
There are exceptions, but the death of iIrish Cleveland Irish columnist Francis McGarry on Friday evening March 14th sees no prose, only prism of hurt and plans to be now drifting whisps of throat-catching sorrow.
I knew Francis well enough for a handshake, until about a dozen years ago, then we quickly grew closer over his Guinness and my iced tea, or a great meal at an ever growing rotation of his haunts and mine ~ just checking in with the Fear an ti – the Man of the house, that all was well.
Francis started writing for iIrish in November of 2014. It didn’t take a lot of convincing for him to jump on board; his passion for Irish and Cleveland history is well known, authentic and backed up; it shined through with the depth of his storytelling each month. Many of us deepened our knowledge, certainly, but grew in understanding of the relationships in our history and some of the whys too.
He generously taught us 214 times. The last one is on page 26.
I am not much of one for the whiskey, but in no way sad that we did share at least a few. A man with great dreams, and willingness to do the hard work to achieve them, we bonded over our beliefs on what really mattered – and on what brought people together, not what separated them. We dreamed and schemed on what we could achieve, together, if people checked their ego and past hurts at the door.
Francis was a proud man, not a perfect one, but I have had no better friend in the last decade. He is one who stood by me and acted with me, in the fight to keep iIrish authentic, impactful, and sustainable.
In these first 48 hours, my words are poor. Across the community, we share tears together, and the parade tomorrow. May the blessings of St. Patrick be upon you, and the blessings for Francis be within you.
Our next Speak Irish Cle 10-week session starts April 1, don’t worry, if you have missed the first week, still join us, we will catch you up.
iIrish is made in America. We have always been green and are proudly Irish, all year long. We feel bittersweet sorrow today, pride of place tomorrow, and can work on our coping skills after that.
Nuair a stapann an ceol, an damhsa déanann an amhlaidh
(When the music stops, so does the dance)
Nuair a stapann an ceol, an damhsa déanann an amhlaidh
(When the music stops, so does the dance)
John
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