Teddy McCarthy remembered as a family man as well as sporting hero at funeral Mass

Cian McCarthy told mourners at the funeral of his father Teddy that he considered writing a speech, but he felt it best to speak from the heart – “because Teddy never followed the script anyway!”

Speaking to the congregation at St Joseph’s Church in Springhill, Glanmire on Saturday, Cian thanked those who had attended and assisted the family. He said that he could go on and about the games his father played, but that everybody knew all of those stories. Instead, he focused on the family fan, particularly the grandfather to Cian’s sons Tiernan and Joey, that Teddy was.

Over the last five-to-ten years, Cian said that Teddy “had really mellowed out,” to laughter from those present.

“All his life, he was so wound up because he sacrificed everything he had to play GAA.

“He really put time into his grandkids and he’d be giving out to me for giving out to them! Myself and Niall would say, ‘If only he was like that when we were growing up!

“He was really proud of them. He’d look at Tiernan and say, ‘Greatness always skips a generation,’ and look over at me then!”

The last game Teddy attended was the MacCurtain Cup final at Ballinlough last Monday, as Cian and Niall helped Passage to victory over Na Piarsaigh.

“We were all with him,” Cian said.

“He came to Ballinlough and had a few pints after, it was a fitting day for everything he stood for. He even told Niall he played well, another rarity!

I can’t say anymore that hasn’t been said. We’ll drive on now, we’ll stand tall, because that’s exactly what he did for all of us.”

Teddys’s coffin, draped in the flags of Cork, Sarsfields and Glanmire, was brought into the church by Billy Morgan, Niall Cahalane, Tomás Mulcahy, Larry Tompkins, Dr Con Murphy and Jimmy Barry Murphy. It was adorned with pictures of his high fielding in both hurling and football.

Prior to the commencement of the Mass, Sarsfields secretary Allan McNamara called those bearing gifts to the altar. The captains of the successful Cork 1990 teams, Tomás Mulcahy and Larry Tompkins, brought the Liam MacCarthy and Sam Maguire Cups respectively, bringing the congregation to a rapturous applause that then followed each subsequent set of gifts.

Cian Ryan and Jack Prout brought a sliothar and a football, symbolising Teddy’s investment of time and effort into underage GAA, while John Considine and Niall Cahalane brought Cork jerseys and Sars chairperson Keith Mulcahy and his Glanmire counterpart Paul Kingston presented the respective clubs’ jerseys.

From the McCarthy family, Teddy’s grandsons Tiernan and Joey carried up the jerseys Teddy had won in the 1990 finals and his daughter Sinéad proffered the medals from those victories.

Teddy’s son Niall brought a Sarsfields jersey worn by Teddy, while his niece Deirdre offered a shirt, representing Teddy’s style. Finally, his nephew Keelan presented a framed photo of Teddy’s mother Mary, who had reared the family following the premature death of her husband, Teddy’s father Denis.

Glanmire parish priest Fr Pat Fogarty said Mass, co-celebrated by Fr Pat Nugent, Fr Martin Barry and Monsignor Kevin O’Callaghan, with Bishops Fintan Gavin and John Buckley also present.

HUMBLE

Fr Fogarty described it as the biggest funeral in Cork in decades and thanked everybody who had played a part. He recalled how, after being informed of his move from Carrigaline to Glanmire last August, he was talking about the move with friends and one said, “That’s where Teddy’s from – that was all that was needed, not ‘Teddy McCarthy’ or ‘Teddy Mac’.

He wore his fame lightly, he was a humble man, never seeking the limelight. 

"Shortly after I moved here, I was honoured to have the privilege of meeting Teddy and his brother Denis. Teddy said, ‘Let me introduce myself,’ and I said, ‘Teddy, you don’t need any introduction, boy.’”

When the news of Teddy’s passing came through on Tuesday, Fr Fogarty said: “We were all stopped in our tracks, it was like a dark cloud descending on the community here in Glanmire, across the county and beyond.

“Initially, the reaction is disbelief, shock and sadness – ‘This can’t be true.’ Then, our thoughts and prayers turned to those who will miss Teddy the most.

“When something like this happens, we’re often at a loss for words and that’s understandable. Words are not important but presence is.”

Fr Martin Barry delivered the sermon and finished it by noting how Teddy’s greatest skill was his fielding.

“I can recall once how the press said, ‘Teddy jumped into the clouds and brought the ball down with him.’

If he was in the clouds, he was halfway to Heaven. 

"Now, he has made that final leap into Heaven, where he will be united with his mother Mary, father Denis, brother Michael and sister Ellen.”

Teddy's coffin left the church to the sounds of The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee.