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John Griffin, Tourism Officer with Kerry County Council, pays tribute to James Lucey who passed away recently…
The late James Lucey.
James (Jimmy) Lucey (1949-2019), the prolific local poet who had that rare gift of language to make ordinary events appear extraordinary, has been laid to rest in Rathass Cemetery, Tralee on Saturday, July 20, after Requiem Mass in St. John’s Church.
James lived most of his life in St. John’s Park and produced some seven anthologies of poetry, between 1980 and 2000. These included “The Gardener and The Rose” (1981), “The Last Dream” (1983) which featured poems with other local poets including his late brother Tommy.
“Nedeen: A Celebration” (1990) dedicated to the jarvey man and raconteur Nedeen Kelliher, “Adam & Eve”, The Swan Pond” (1990), “Poems and Proverbs” (1990) and his last work “The Lucey Brothers” (2000) jointly penned with his brother Tommy.
Jimmy recalled “the vanishing folklore of Tralee” especially its traditional crafts. He recorded the last breed of traditional craftsmen like shoemaker Tomás Breathnach and blacksmith, Michael Griffin, and celebrated the rebirth of Blennerville Windmill and Tralee Ship Canal.
Writing in 2000 he said: “If my poems can help foster interest in the arts and crafts then, tough modest they may be, my work will be truly complemented.”
The funeral Mass was concelebrated by Fr. Tadhg Fitzgerald, PP, St. John’s, Fr. Denis O’Mahony, PP, Abbeydorney, and Fr. Bernard Healy, C.C., Irish College, Rome. During the ceremony family members read a selection of James’ poetry including, appropriately, “Our Song”:
We all have to leave,
We cannot take it
with us.
Listening to the birds
early this morning,
they too have to leave!
But we all have our song,
And though we cannot take it with us,
Maybe, that in the end is
what we leave behind!
Some part of our song
in the hearts of those
who love
and have loved us.
James is survived by his sisters Siobhán (Griffin) and Treasa (Rice), extended family and friends. Ar dheis Dé a ainm.
