HUGE CROWDS lined the streets of Ennistymon on Monday as the coffin of the beloved Joe Crosse made its way to his final resting place in The Old Cemetery.
Since his tragic death on Thursday morning and the subsequent outpouring of emotion, love and tributes it is becoming clear that nobody had a bad word to say about Joe and instead the view can be formed that this was a man held in the highest of esteem and who people could only admire.
This because of his kindness, generosity and fearless nature which is why he was a perfect fit for working as a retained firefighter in Ennistymon and his level of volunteering within the community remained so high. As a plasterer he was widely respected and had been completing repairs to a property in the town before his death.
Forty six year old Joe went the distance on several occasions raising funds for local groups including the playground in Lahinch and the Friends of Ennistymon Community Hospital. He ran 100 miles in 21 hours in 2014 and in 2016 ran 250 miles across three days.
Clouna Church was packed to capacity with crowds waiting outside for his funeral mass on Monday afternoon, the mass was streamed to locals who gathered in Ennistymon Community Centre while the North Clare town came to a standstill as his remains made its way from the church, beyond the Ennistymon Council offices, Blake’s Corner, up Parliament Street to his place of work at the Ennistymon Fire Station before diverting for the cemetery after 1pm.
Guards of honour were provided by members of the Fire Service, Clare Civil Defence, Clare County Council staff and Ennistymon GAA while staff and management of businesses along Main Street stopped during the lunchtime rush to stand outside their premises and pay their respects as Joe’s coffin was carried through his town. Younger members of the guard of honour included U9 footballers for Ennistymon, Joe was their manager and someone they looked up to. He had coached and managed the club’s U11 and U7 teams in the past.
Chief celebrant for Joe’s funeral was Fr Des Forde who was joined by Ruan based Fr Pat O’Neill and Lissycasey parish priest Fr Brendan Kyne. “We gather here and we are broken,” he said at the beginning of the mass.
Members of the Fire Service from units across the country attended the mass as did emergency service workers from different sectors including the Clare Civil Defence and local Gardaí.
Mayor of Clare, Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) was in attendance along with Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Gordon Daly, Cathaoirleach of the West Clare Municipal District, Cllr Bill Slattery (FG), Director of Physical Development, Alan Farrell, Director of Economic Development, Carmel Kirby, County Fire Officer Adrian Kelly and Cllr Shane Talty (FF) who is also Chairperson of Ennistymon football club.
Cllr Talty speaking on behalf of the GAA club in a tribute said Joe “was the best of everyone. A great coach, neighbour, worker and friend”.
“Brid fell in love with Joe as we all did in different ways,” recounted Fr Forde of the husband and wife who became proud parents to Teagan and Odhran. He was a twin with his twin-sister Joanne joined by their siblings Olivia, Tricia and Tom at the top of the altar.
Fr Forde said of Joe’s involvement in the community, “he shone a light in Ennistymon GAA and many charities, most recently the Relay for Life. How he gave so much in his life is unbelievable. Brid you must have spent a lot of time on your own because he looked after everyone but he did look after you”.
His colleague Billy and daughter Teagan read ‘A Fireman’s Prayer’ at the beginning of the mass with Anne and Dan Hogan given the task of the readings. “Joe obliged everyone, Tegan is one of our servers here at Clouna Church but she came in about two weeks ago and said I’m taking summer holidays, she tells it straight out,” Fr Forde quipped.
“Joe ticked that box as the salt of the earth in everything he did, as the light of the world he ticked that box too,” said Fr Des. “We can do all we can do but there is a time for everything. It doesn’t suit us to be down here around this man who did so much and had so much potential,” he added. Fr Des commented, “Joe would make you tired just looking at home with the amount of work he did with the Fire Services, County Council, community work and building work”.
Tricia his sister admitted that she had to rewrite the eulogy several times over the last few days due to the amount of new stories emerging about Joe. “There’s so many words if not too many to describe Ioe. A loyal dedicated husband, father, brother, son and friend. He was selfless, stubborn, very heavily involved in the community which has been evident the last couple of days”.
His difficulty in answering a simple yes or no question was flagged by Tricia. “Joe was a family man, family was very imp to him, he lived for his beautiful wife Brid and their children Tegan and Odhran”. She continued, “Joe always found an opportunity to help charities, friends and the community, no task was too big or small, he never wanted the limelight that went with it, every year we were told this would be the last challenge but every January we were waiting for what would be next”.
How Joe always made people laugh at the wrong moment was recalled by his twin Joanne. His kind-hearted nature which saw him adopt a donkey from the Donkey Sanctuary resulting in a nice Christmas present for Brid also made the congregation laugh. “His traits will live on through his children,” she said. “From the outpouring over the last few days it is clear the impact he has had”.
Symbols brought to the foot of the alter included Joe’s runners showing his passion for running, his fire helmet as a sign of how helped others in the community, his trowel which from a young age had him doing what he loved, his favourite treats Toblerone and Jaffa Cakes “which symbolise his love for downtime with family” and a football to demonstrate Joe’s love for sport.
Joe is survived by his heartbroken wife Brid, children Teagan and Odhran, sisters Joanne, Olivia and Tricia, brother Tom, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, Brid’s parents Brendan and Mary, nieces, nephews, extended family, his close friend Pat, neighbours and a wide circle of friends and his colleagues in the Fire Brigade.
