Retirement Function
John James Kelly
BACK
For forty years the people of Kiltimagh and the surrounding area have been calling
the Kiltimagh Fire Brigade when the need arose, but on December 6th 2002, the Fire
Brigade reversed this trend, when they called the people of Kiltimagh to my retirement
function at the Cill Aodain hotel. The community answered the call with great enthusiasm
and this ensured that a full house was present to honour my forty years commitment
to the local fire service.
My official retiring date was January 3rd, 2003. However during the last days of November
I had inklings that something was afoot, for pictures were disappearing from the
walls, colleagues were speaking in hushed tones, and there were other tell-tale bits
of evidence pointing to some kind of preparation. But what I experienced on the
night was much beyond my wildest expectations. I never dreamt that the function
room would be packed with serving colleagues, retired colleagues, family members
from home and abroad, and members of the broader community.
At about six o'clock on the evening of the function, a state of the art computer
was delivered to my door. It was installed in my sitting room. The computer was
the first of many presents that I subsequently received. This was the start of an
evening of deep emotions for me.
It was coming up to half past nine in the evening and I was attired in dress uniform;
it was time to make my way to the hotel. I couldn't believe my eyes when I entered
the function room. It was packed to capacity. All those people were here to celebrate
my forty years of devotion to the local fire station. It was a marvellous feeling,
and for a moment it left me somewhat dumbfounded. However, I was soon escorted to
the stage by Brendan O'Shea, a firemen from our unit, where Seamus Murphy, Chief Fire Officer
for the county, began the proceedings by saying some words regarding my long service
to the unit.
Then Ger Keegan, Acting Station Officer, presented me with a beautiful piece of
sculpture. It was a figure, cast in bronze, of a fire fighter with a hose, fighting
a fire. The bronze figure was mounted on a base of bog oak. I learned that the
piece of bog oak was recovered from the road works on the Bohola Road. Bog oak was
an appropriate material for it was local, and in a way if symbolised the role of the
local fireman who has to fight many a bog fire.
Castlebar Fire Brigade presented me with another bronze sculpture; this piece was
of a fire fighter saving a child from a fire. And my local colleagues surprised me
with yet another presentation. It was a large mirror inscribed with my years of service:
1962-2002.
For a while the spotlight shifted from me to my wife Nan. She was rewarded for her
twenty-five years of dealing with emergency calls in an efficient and courteous manner
by receiving a Waterford crystal table lamp which was suitably inscribed.
When all the presentations were made, I had to respond to the generosity of my colleagues
and to thank all the people who attended the function. I had no prepared script,
and I didn't feel one bit ill at ease. And why should I? These were my friends and colleagues;
they were here to celebrate with me. I must have spoken for over half an hour,
recalling past events, some funny, some sad. During the course of the night I received cards
and congratulatory messages from as far afield as Chicago.
It was 4.15am and I was hoarse by now. I was talking incessantly for hours to different
people concerning different events and personalities from the past. It was a demanding
night, but I can truthfully say that it was a most rewarding experience, not just for
myself, but also for my wife, my family, my colleagues and my friends.
BACK