Tom And Eileen Call Time On Life At Kerins O’Rahillys Bar

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Tom and Eileen O’Shea are to leave the Kerins O’Rahillys after over 30 years manning the bar. Photo by Dermot Crean

IT’LL be an emotional occasion for Tom and Eileen O’Shea on Wednesday, January 31, as they will spend their last night behind Charlie’s Bar at Kerins O’Rahilly’s Clubhouse.

The couple are part of the furniture at the club and have seen so many changes over the years. They’ve catered for weddings, birthdays, christenings, funerals and more, seeing club members growing up and making great friends along the way.

Tom, a native of Conahy, Co. Kilkenny, married Eileen Lynch from Foilmore and the couple moved up to the county capital from south Kerry over 30 years ago.

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“We’ve had great, happy years here,” said Tom. “We’ve made some fantastic friends over the years and sadly some of them are no longer with us. We’ve served three generations of families coming here over the years and we’ve been to people’s weddings and special occasions.”

“The highlight of our time here the club winning the county championship in 2002, but we’ve had other amazing days here too,” said Tom.

Having spent so much time in the club, Eileen said the future will bring a big change.

“It’ll be a huge adjustment — from working seven days a week and meeting people all the time — but I’m looking forward to having a bit of time to spare and being able to spend time with family. But we’ll always be Narie supporters! We’ll be in and out but on the other side of the counter,” said Eileen.

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Chairman of Kerins O’Rahillys GAA Club, Haulie Kerins, paid tribute to Tom and Eileen for their service over the years.

“Tom and Eileen have been here for 30 years and they were marvellous ambassadors for the club over the years. There was always a great welcome and hospitality for club members and anyone who came into the bar. It’ll be an emotional farewell for them both because it’s a lifetime of work between them here. They saw a lot of changes over the years and we wouldn’t have the fantastic bar and facilities looking and maintained so well without Tom and Eileen. They were central to maintaining our status here as the hub of the community.

There’s a great night planned on Wednesday, January 31, with music from Danny Goggin and Tom and Eileen are hoping people will call in so they can say goodbye on the night.

Mike O’Connor, a Knocknagoshel man living in Ardfert, who has been working at the bar over the past few years, will take over as boss at Charlies Bar and all at the club wish him well.