*Joe Vaughan.
MOY’S Joe Vaughan has been remembered as “a legend” and a man of character, determination and dedication.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning last, Joe died in a fatal house fire in Moymore, the cause of which An Garda Síochána are still investigating.
A stalwart of Moy GAA, Joe won a Junior Championship with the club in 1986, a title that would be Moy’s last until the Division 7 League win in 2012. He was the club’s honorary life president and was an inspiring figure to all involved with the tight-knit club.
Joe also made his mark in boxing and was the founder of the West Finglas Boxing Club in 1974.
During his thirty six years as a maths and business teacher in Coláiste Dhúlaigh, he discovered his passion for boxing. Under his guidance, students went on to win 36 consecutive City of Dublin VEC boxing titles. This success led to his lifelong involvement with West Finglas Boxing Club, where he served as coach and later President, guiding young boxers to national titles.
His commitment was not confined to the ring. He spearheaded fundraising efforts for the Dom Savio charity, raising over €1 million through the annual 24-hour skipathon. Such was Joe’s standing in boxing circles that the likes of Katie Taylor, Andy Lee, Michael Carruth and Kenny Egan joined in year after year.
As his coffin was brought to Saint Mary’s Church in Moy on Sunday evening, the pounding wind and rain as members of Moy GAA club provided a guard of honour reminded them all of the powerful figure they were there to remember. “I want to make a point about the weather last night and the rain, lord save us and guard us, the answer my friend is blowing in the wind. Do you know I was thinking, God almighty, I couldn’t get out of the car it was so bad, I was thinking Joe was with us and so close to us in spirit, he let us know in no uncertain terms that he was here with that powerful pounding rain on the window,” remarked Fr Tommy Marrinan.
Born on a dairy farm in Moy More, Joe attended Moy National School and later CBS Ennistymon. “He was described as a placid child, his summers spent cutting turf, saving hay, and playing football for St Joseph’s Miltown from under-12s right up to minor,” his nephew Alan recalled. After school, Joe studied at UCD, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce before completing his Higher Diploma at Maynooth. His teaching career began at Scoil Bríde in Finglas, before moving to Coláiste Dhúlaigh, where he would become a valued member of staff for close to four decades.
Among his colleagues was Bishop Donal Roche, the auxiliary bishop of Dublin. He told Monday’s funeral that three of Joe’s former colleagues in Coolock were in attendance. “I would like to express our gratitude to Joe’s family for giving him to us, he was so generous and he was as we said a legend. He tried to give everyone a job, if they couldn’t play football, he would get them to do water or bring the jerseys, if they weren’t so good he would bring them on for last five if we were sure we would win or lose, he always looked out for the weak. He had a great faith, regular trips to Knock, would always get mass cards signed for everyone he knew that died. Thanks to Joe for all you were and all you gave”.
Joe’s nephew Alan thanked the public for showing “incredible support” to the Vaughan family over the past week. He said he was honoured to speak about his uncle who was born on St Joseph’s Day (March 19th) 1950. “It was the year Seán T. O’Kelly was President, John A. Costello was Taoiseach, and, most remarkably, Mayo were All-Ireland champions which is something almost as rare as the man we are gathered to remember this evening”.
Alan noted that Joe was “a Moy man through and through” who was deeply respected by those who crossed his path and never showed the white feather. “Joe was never one to sit still. His weekly journeys from Dublin back to Moy were legendary. He also loved the horse fairs, making regular trips to Spancilhill, Maam Cross, Buttevant and Smithfield. For him, those gatherings were about friendship, conversation and tradition.
“His devotion to Moy GAA was just as strong. His playing career began in 1965 and lasted over three decades. He captained Moy to our first county success in 1980, lifting the McNamara Cup when we won the league, and he played corner back in 1986 when Moy claimed the Junior B Championship. Even during lean years, Joe’s determination never wavered. He went to great lengths to ensure Moy always fielded a team, even bringing young lads down from Coolock to wear the green and white. Thanks to people like Joe, we still have a club today. That is why he was made our Honorary Life President, because he represented all that is good about Moy GAA and our parish,” he added.
Moy’s current team were often described by Joe as “the finest squad the club has ever produced. He attended matches and training sessions, and only recently was at our final session before the League Final win. Along with his great friend and teammate Mick Mac, Joe reminded the players what it means to represent Moy and how today’s victories will be remembered for generations. It is a mark of Joe’s standing that Moy has received messages of condolence from near and far, including Clare GAA, his teaching colleagues and students, and even Crossmaglen GAA. Joe was loved, admired and respected by his family, his friends, his colleagues and his former students. He was an inspiration to many, and his memory will live on in the stories we tell and the lives he touched”.
He recalled how his uncle once marvelled at his ability to fix the batteries in both his clock and remote control on one visit and how later that evening Joe recalled to his other nephew Oisin, ‘do you see the remote control and the clock, Alan changed both of them, he should have been an electrician’.
Alan was confident the Moy juniors would carry Joe’s spirit with them in the knockout stages of the club championship. “As his nephew, and as his friend, I will carry Joe with me always”.
Addressing Monday’s mass, Fr Marrinan said, “We gather with heavy hearts. We come together conscious of feeling the sadness of death and the sadness of parting but we’re a people of hope, it doesn’t all end there, to the faithful people your life has changed not ended”. He noted the remarks of Joe’s teaching colleagues in Dublin who were part of the priesthood and joined him on the altar, “They told me he was a legend, that is what they say, Joe was a legend”.
According to Fr Marrinan, the last person Joe thought about was himself. “What matters is how we lived and what difference did we make how we were in this world, how we helped our fellow human beings in whatever context or profession we worked, Joe made a huge difference, he touched people’s lives so powerfully, he had a great sense of his roots, he was down to his earth, listening to the Bishop and his colleagues they were telling me he was just a legend, he had huge time for the lad that was struggling, he always picked up on the fella or girl whoever had the struggle in life, whoever found it difficult and didn’t get the same opportunities that everybody else got, he empowered young people enormously, he enabled them and made them believe in themselves”.
Symbols brought before the altar included rosary beads as an ode to Joe’s deep faith and many hours spent in Knock, a mass card noting how he deeply he cared for others through his generosity and thoughtfulness, a book to acknowledge his teaching career, a Moy jersey to remember his lifelong dedication to the club and palpable passion for the GAA plus boxing gloves which was not just a sport but a vocation for Vaughan.
Passion and heart was also evident in the music throughout Monday’s mass. “I never heard the Sally Guard played as good as that,” commented Fr Marrinan while he also pointed out following Enda Haren’s rendition of Spancil Hill, “there was great heart in that”.
Joe is deeply regretted by his sisters Mary Browne, Ann Roche and his brother Michael, brothers-in-law Pat and George, sisters-in-law Maireád and Anne, nieces Sinéad, Maria, Maireád, Rose Anna, nephews Alan, Peter. Oisín, Ciarán, Micheál, relatives, friends and neighbours.
