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The late Jack O’Sullivan outside his premises on Patrick Street in Fermoy.

Chatting with a few colleagues in Fermoy recently, some names from long ago popped up in conversation – some of whom we might refer to as ‘characters’, but all great people in their own right.

During a chat about the flood works and wondering (and hoping) that all goes well when the plan is called upon to do what it's supposed to do, Jack O’Sullivan’s name (more affectionately referred to as Sullivan) was mentioned and the great work he did for coarse angling in the town.

OLD STYLE

Those of a different vintage will need to be reminded that Jack ran a drapers shop in Patrick Street in the premises now occupied by Meteor.

In the final years of trading and at a time when shops up and down the street were ‘upgrading’, Jack’s shop remained very much in the ‘old style’ – lovely cabinets displaying cuff links and ties etc., and lots of drawers that held loose shirt collars, the studs to go with them and God knows what else. Ladies came and went too - but mainly upstairs for the latest hair-do to the hairdressing salon run by the ever capable Renee Noonan.

MAGGOTS

It would not be surprising though to find a few buckets of maggots or grubs on the counter. You see, Jack had a lot fishermen calling, many of them from the UK and he was at his busiest (and happiest) when the famous coarse angling competitions were being run in the town. One of our group said it was his opinion, that the maggots were the main reason Jack remained open for so long as it is fair to say his drapery business would not have been the busiest one in town.

One of our group mentioned the potential the river holds and the need to ‘use’ the Blackwater, more particularly now that the quay sides are looking so well. “You would need someone like Jack Sullivan to do that,” was the immediate response. Nothing could be nearer the mark as Jack led the way when it came to putting Fermoy on the map, in general tourism terms and for years, making it one of the main coarse angling centres in Europe.

He attracted many prestigious fishing events to the town culminating in the World Coarse Angling Championships in 1968. There wouldn’t be a bed to be had in the general Fermoy area – both hotels – The Royal in the Square and The Grand, full to capacity and every guesthouse and B&B the same for miles around.

RECOGNISED

Looking back now, it is nice to know that Jack was recognised for his great work for Fermoy while he was still alive - in 1978, he was the community award recipient at the Faber Castell Fermoy Area Awards in The Grand Hotel. He would later receive an award from Cork/Kerry Tourism, that was in 1982 and to mark 50 years serving coarse angling at local and national level, the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland presented Jack with a gold medal.

You wanted to be in Jack’s company - what a man to tell a yarn, and every day a new one! His door on Patrick Street was always open and welcoming. When Jack retired from business, the gatherings at The Grand ‘for coffee’ were legendary – and beautiful in a sense, seeing half a dozen pals keeping in touch in this way - and nice to note that the tradition continues.

Jack O'Sullivan passed to his eternal reward on December 27, 2011 – yes, another great character had moved on!

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