The late Will Mullane
A great sense of loss was evident at the funeral of Will Mullane who was laid to rest in his native Farahy on Saturday last. A lover of everything Irish, it was only fitting that Will’s remains would be brought back to his home place from London where he had lived for the past 30 years.
Born William Francis Mullane, Will grew up with his family in Farahy, went to school in the Kildorrery and went on to play Gaelic games with the village teams until an injury eventually put paid to his playing career.
Will worked in Galtee Foods in Mitchelstown in the late 70s. He emigrated to Germany in the early 80s and in 1985, came to London where he eventually took over Mandy’s Irish Shop in Willesden Green. Mandy’s was an institution, and a great place for Irish emigrants to gather to get all the news from home as the shop stocked all the Irish papers. For Will, it meant starting work at 5am to have the Irish dailies ready for those heading to work. He always ensured there was an adequate stock of Irish food products, especially the products from home – in particular Galtee rashers and sausages and Mitchelstown cheese which were great sellers.
In the mid 80s while home on holidays, Will met his darling Margaret Sheehan from Glanworth at a function in Mitchelstown. They married in 1988, set up home in Oxgate Lane, Dollis Hill in London and went on to have two boys, Will and Jack.
A great lover of Irish culture and Irish games, Will longed for nothing better than for Cork to win the All-Ireland and Kildorrery the North Cork. His hospitality knew no bounds and Will and Margaret’s door was always open for visitors from home. Every March they hosted Noel Scannell and Kevin O’Keeffe who would be on their way to Cheltenham. In fact Noel had the key to door, should he ever ‘get lost’ in London! Blessed with a great sense of humour, Will liked nothing better than to ignite a good political argument between the two and would usually greet Noel with the question: ‘Has the Fine Gaeler arrived?’
Will Mullane braved his illness for all of 18 years and continued to run Mandy’s Irish Shop up until a few short years ago.
He will be greatly missed by his wife Margaret, sons Will and Jack, his brother John and sisters Breda (Flynn) and Maragret (Whelan), his relatives and many friends to whom we extend our sincere sympathy.
