Cork advocate for the elderly pays warm tribute to the late Paddy Cole

The well known Cork advocate for the elderly, Paddy O'Brien, has described showband singer and saxophone player Patrick ‘Paddy’ Cole as a “thorough gentleman” following the announcement of Mr Cole's death on Wednesday.

Mr Cole, best known for his lengthy music career, died on Wednesday at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin following a battle with lung cancer, only a few short weeks after his 85th birthday.

The musician, once famously dubbed ‘King of the Swingers’ began his career in the 60s, when he started playing with The Capitol Showband.

He then moved to Las Vegas in the early 70s to join The Big Eight Showband, which featured singers Brendan Bowyer, Tom Dunphy and Twink.

When Mr Cole returned to Ireland following his American residency, he formed the Paddy Cole Band, which was later renamed as the Paddy Cole Superstars.

Throughout his 70-year career, Mr Cole also performed on many occasions at the Cork Jazz Festival, as well as at other venues across the city and county.

Great friend

Speaking to The Echo, Paddy O’Brien said that Mr Cole was a “great friend” of his, and will be dearly missed by both his supporters and loved ones.

“I want to sympathise with Paddy Cole's wife Helen and his family on their great personal loss,” said Mr O’Brien.

“I knew Paddy for many, many years – he played for years and years at the Cork Jazz Festival, and people loved him, they came from all over Ireland to see him. He was the main attraction, he was one of Ireland’s best musicians - he was a thorough gentleman and such a lovely person," he added.

“I had the pleasure of having a great 10 days away with him in South Africa with the Irish Heart Foundation.

“I will always remember that we climbed Table Mountain, which is a big mountain in Cape Town, and everybody loved him.

“He was so caring, we had a lot of people with us on the trip who weren’t big into walking and if they were lagging behind, he would always go back and give them a boost up.

“Every night on that trip we had a session where he played, and locally when people knew he was a professional, the crowds came in," said Mr O'Brien.

“I think that when people think of Paddy Cole, they will think of how he was a fantastic musician, with a lovely personality and a beautiful smile – he was always happy, I never heard him complain about anything.

“That was the best trip because Paddy was on it. I was very fond of him, we were great friends.”