This article is from page 4 of the 2008-05-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
FORMER assistant county manager Roibeard O Ceallaigh, who passed away at the weekend, has been re- membered as a great motivator for WTR UK emOvis ba tey
Mr O Ceallaigh (64), died in hos- pital in Dublin at the weekend, fol- lowing a short illness. He had suf- fered from a rare heart disorder for a number of years.
The Kilkenny native had worked in the local authority sector for 40 years, during which time he was SETA ANOKe kDa Mm Oba eee) and assistant county manager and Ennis town manager (1985 – 1994),
He also served as county manager in Limerick and Meath and also
worked with Kilkenny, Waterford and Wicklow county councils, prior to retiring in 2001. ;
Over the years, Mr O Ceallaigh had played a key role in the Irish lan- guage and had been pivotal in Ennis winning several national awards for Gere
He had been chairman of Conradh na Gaeilge in Ennis, while he was also chairman of the board of Clar na Gaeilge, a community language development programme for the county.
He was also chairman of Glor na nGael in Ennis, which won a national award last year.
Mr O Ceallaigh’s last public func- tion was in Glor in Ennis last March, when he accepted this prestigious ac-
colade, on behalf of Glor na nGael.
He was the founding chairman of Gaelscoil Cios6g in Ennis in 1983 and was also on the committee of Féile na hInise, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
His colleague with the various Irish organisations in Ennis Donal O Loinsigh said, “He was in his ele- ment that night.
‘“Roibeard was a man who learned Irish. He acquired Irish and learned it in Ballyferriter (Kerry) every sum- noe
“In his professional career, he pio- neered the use of Irish in the public service. He came up with the concept of having people in every section of the council to have proficient Irish even before the language Act,’ he
Cente
“Clare County Council was the first local authority to produce fully bilingual application forms and he was a pioneer of that,’ added Mr O Loinsigh.
“He was the driving force behind anything that catapulted Ennis into the limelight nationally.
“He was a great motivator,” he Teeter
Mr O Ceallaigh had retired to En- nis and had lived in Roslevan with his wife Carmel. He had three sons Roibeard Og, Ronan and Eoghan.
He will repose at his home from 4pm today (Tuesday) and will be laid to rest in his native Kilkenny, follow- ing [lam mass at Ennis Cathedral tomorrow.