A man whose life spanned almost a century of change

The death of Owen (Owenie) Coyle of Corhelshinagh, County Monaghan, on October 11, in his 100th year, marked the passing of a man whose life spanned almost a century of change.

Born on April 6, 1927, Owenie was possibly one of the last people in Ireland to have known someone who lived through the Great Famine of 1845–1852. His grandfather, also named Owen, was born in 1837 and was 90 when Owenie was born. He remembered him as a kind, friendly old man with a long beard who died in 1934, when Owenie was seven.

Owenie was the eldest of a large family and left school at 12 when his father became seriously ill. Following his father’s early death, he worked to support the family. Hired out to local farmers, he recalled that without waterproof clothing, if you got wet in the morning, you stayed wet all day.

He later learned stonemasonry from his uncle, but his real love was farming. He began contracting with horses and a plough before buying a tractor. He joked that he didn’t miss the horses, as the tractor didn’t need feeding during winter!

He recalled travelling to barn dances and crossroads dances with a friend. They shared a bicycle, taking turns cycling to save their energy for dancing.

Around 1940, aged 13, Owenie attended his first wake. Clay pipes filled with tobacco, as was tradition, were laid out on the table, and he took one and had his first smoke, not a pleasant experience as he recalled. The deceased was also the last man in the area to be carried in relays by local men to Bawn Church, a considerable distance away.

Owenie remembered the great freeze of 1947, when freezing conditions lasted almost two months. He recalled bringing a shovel indoors at night to dig their way out the following morning. He also remembered a local woman who froze to death while walking to the shop.

On September 29, 1959, Owenie married Teresa McNulty from Ballintra. It was a double wedding, with Teresa’s sister Molly also marrying that day. Together, they raised their family on their farm in Corhelshinagh.

One story the family heard in later years concerned a neighbour who came looking for milk in the early 1960s, as their cows had gone dry. Owenie gave the family a cow to keep until their own cows were producing milk again. He was always willing to help a neighbour, this is something that shone through the many stories in recent weeks.

Alongside farming, Owenie worked for many years at the Glaxo milk-processing plant in Lough Egish, having also helped build the factory.

He lived a long and healthy life and always tried to do his best for everyone. He loved telling stories of times gone by, something that will be greatly missed by his family and all who knew him.

Owenie’s Month’s Mind Mass will be celebrated in St Patrick’s Church, Bawn, on Sunday, November 8.