Padraig Maye May 1st 1940-31st January 2021
OUR TRIBUTE TO PADRAIG
On January 31st 2021, a few short weeks after the launch of History & Memories Vol 2, we lost our dear friend and much valued member of our History & Memories history group. Many tributes and heartfelt messages have been written about Padraig since his sudden passing all of which extoled his many achievements, attributes and virtues.
We would like to pay tribute to Padraig the historian, who played such an important role in birth of the History & Memories historical group. Little did we know on that October night in 2015 how important this group would become not only to us but to all those who live here, were born here or have a family connection this special place that we all call home, the parish of Kilmactigue.
Padraig was a proud son of this parish and in particular of his birthplace of Aclare and spent many years collecting information on the people and events in this parish. Over the years he interviewed so many of the older people in our community, people who are no longer with us, those who were camera shy he just used his trusty notepad and pen and jotted down their memories and stories.
One of the people he visited and chatted to was the late Jim Fleming from Curraghboy and it was through these visits that Jim entrusted Padraig with his hand written memoirs that we lovingly called “The Bran Flakes Chronicles” as these memoirs had been written on the inside of empty Bran Flakes boxes.
When we think back on that first meeting, we had no idea what format this history group would take all we could be certain of was that we all shared the same vision of collecting, preserving and recording the history of our parish not only for ourselves but for all the people of this parish here at home and the diaspora now domiciled in other lands and for future generations of this parish.
At that meeting we got a strong sense of Padraig’s love and knowledge of local historical which stretched back to his boyhood growing up in the family pub in Aclare. That night he arrived with a folder full of photographs, newspaper cuttings, articles and handwritten notes that he had collected over the years. From this meeting was born History & Memories Vol 1 & 2. Padraig was meticulous in his research and would write and rewrite an article a number of times until he was satisfied with finished product, which he would then take to his grandchildren to type it for him.
Padraig so enjoyed the History & Memories project, he was overwhelmed by response to Vol 1 and the turnout to the launch in August 2019. Unfortunately, we were unable to do a public launch for Vol 2 and in its place we produced a DVD of the parish using drone and video footage. He was in his element as we traversed the parish from corner to corner recording this beautiful and rugged landscape. he was so proud of the finished product and his emotional response to it will live with us forever.
Padraig has left an indelible impression on all of us who knew and loved him, we treasure the time we spent in his company and the many wonderful evenings spent pouring over old manuscripts and photographs, the fun, the laughter and the gentle humour of one of life’s gentlemen.
Farewell dear friend, how lucky are we to have had a friend that it is so hard to say goodbye too.
Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.
WESTERN PEOPLE ARTICLE
This piece was written by Padraig’s grand-daughter Alana Loftus.
Of all the things Covid-19 has stolen from us this past year, the worst has been the opportunity to give our grandfather Padraig Maye, the send off that he so richly deserved. A man as magnificent as he was, deserves to have his memory honoured. To many he was Padraig, Mr. Maye the teacher, a sporting competitor or a friendly neighbour who always wore a smile, but to me, his seven other grandchildren, and his great-granddaughter, he was “papa”.
As a child, growing up with an American influence in my family, some words I used did not match those of my classmates. They found the term “Papa” particularly funny, and I spent years making sure I called him ‘Grandad’ in front of them. However, as I got older, I grew to love the fact that his name was unique, as it reflected how special he was.
Our “Papa”, Padraig Maye was born in Aclare, Co. Sligo, on May day 1940. He grew up a lover of sports and will perhaps be best remembered for his athletic achievements. He became involved in athletics in his school days and won an All Ireland title, with St. Nathy’s College, Ballaghadereen, for the Hogan cup 1957, as one of only two 3rd year students on the team, something he would often, proudly remind us of. That all Ireland medal, turned out to be the first of many; 170 to be exact, that he collected through the years, from a series of different athletics events. He competed through Ballina Athletics Club, which he was a proud member of. He also held 31 British athletics medals, 48 Ulster Championships and 71 cups for athletics football and handball.
Needless to say, Padraig kept his love of sport alive, long after his school days. His adventurous spirit not only encouraged him to try different sports, but to seek adventure around the globe. His many addresses include Dublin, London, Nigeria and Chicago. In 1966 he went to Chicago for a 2 week holiday, and ended up meeting Terry, my nana, and settling there until 1980, when they returned home to Aclare with their two daughters Coleen (my mom) and Erin.
After returning home, Padraig was a teacher at Banada Abbey secondary school, and later at St. Attracta’s Community School. He taught History, Geography and English, which he had a particular fondness for. He passed his library of books onto us as we grew up, instilling in us a hunger for knowledge, and a love for reading. In recent years, Padraig was working on a series of books about local history, in the parish of Kilmactigue, alongside two other local historians, Danny Jones and Marie Fleming. Padraig put great time and effort into compiling the stories and facts he had kept for years. Volume three was due to be released this summer. His memory was sharp as a pin, and he could rhyme off dates and figures from 70 years ago like he had learned them yesterday. Most local people would recall that wherever you saw Padraig, you also saw his video camera. He has collected hundreds of tapes of footage throughout the years, all of which he treasured dearly. Shortly before he passed, I was helping him organise the footage, though we never got very far because we would stop to watch all the tapes.
Though the list of his achievements in life is never ending, one would seldom hear him brag of his successes. His love was for sport, not winning, which explains why he was still competing right up until 2020, at almost 80 years of age. He was however, particularly excited to be entering the ‘Over 80’s’ age bracket, as he would only ever have 2 or 3 competitors in each event, ensuring that he almost always walked away with a gold, silver or bronze. Padraig preferred the simple pleasures of life, and he cared about the little things. He tried to instil these values in his children and grandchildren, and taught us of the importance of kindness, patience and gratitude.
Saying goodbye to a grandparent is never easy, and with the current Covid 19 restrictions we were only allowed to say our goodbyes to him through a window. We sang him to sleep on Sunday, January 31st, with two guitars and 8 voices singing his favourite song ‘The Isle of Innisfree’. Words cannot describe how much we will miss him, and we know there are many people who will share in our grief. I feel blessed to have known him, and to have had him as part of my life, and I take comfort in knowing that if the world had more people like Padraig Maye, it would be a peaceful place.
Padraig with the Hogan Cup in Ballaghadereen 1957