Family and home were 'first and last' in the life of young Offaly father

The funeral Mass for 32-year-old Offaly man, Dermot Conroy, who passed away suddenly at his home in Killeenmore, Killeigh on June 4 last, heard that family and home were “first and last” in the life of the young father of two.

“The man who would light up any room or any gathering is gone, the light has dimmed,” said Killeigh Parish Priest, Fr John Stapleton, as he tried to convey the deep sense of shock and grief of the entire communities of Killeigh and Ballinagar at the sudden passing of the much-loved An Post employee who was described as having lived a life which was filled with “love, joy and friendship”.

Fr Stapleton told the overflowing congregation in St Joseph’s Church in Ballinagar on Friday of last week that Dermot Conroy and his wife, Charlotte, had attended the christening of their baby son, Noah, in the same church just two weeks previously. “Do we ever know,” he asked.

It was in the same church that the young couple had pledged their wedding vows on February 20, 2020 and had promised to love and honour each other all the days of their lives, said Fr Stapleton.

“Little did anyone think that all the days of their lives would mean three years and three months,” he said. “This is a moment of awful loss.”

During his homily, Fr Stapleton recounted the final days of Dermot Conroy’s life, and said he had attended three family celebrations over the course of two days, including his baby son’s Christening the First Communion of his brother’s child and the wedding of his cousin. “Family and home were first and last in Dermot’s life, and the last eight or nine days of his life are a perfect example of that,” he said in tribute.

Among the symbols brought to the altar at the funeral Mass were the young man’s Liverpool jersey to signify his love and devotion to the team and his love of all sports; a family picture to signify his love of his “little family who were the light of his life;” his drill to symbolise his love of DIY and his An Post cap to signify his love of his job as a mail carrier, a position in which he had only been made permanent in recent weeks.

Also brought to the altar was a photograph of the young father with his late sister, Ashling, to symbolise the “love and grief” felt by Dermot Conroy and his family at the tragic loss of his big sister in an accident some years ago. “They are now reunited together in heaven,” the congregation was told.

Dermot's sister, Donna, read a moving tribute to her brother as did his brother, Kieran and his father-in-law, Mick Feery, who drew a ripple of laughter from the congregation when he recounted his first meeting with his future son-in-law in 2012. "I was doing my usual interrogation and then, out of the blue, every Man United's supporter's worst nightmare, Dermot was a Liverpool fan," he said.

Many members of the congregation at the funeral Mass for the hugely-popular young man wore sports jerseys following a request from his family in his funeral notice that people wear a jersey “to celebrate Dermot’s life and his love of sport”.

Such was the high esteem in which Dermot Conroy was held by his An Post colleagues that Tullamore Post Office closed its doors to the public for a number of hours on Friday of last week so staff could attend his funeral Mass.

Dermot Conroy is lovingly missed and always remembered by his wife Charlotte (née Feery), his daughter Sophia, baby son Noah, his parents Tom and Margaret (Ballinagar, Geashill); brothers Kieran and Gerard, sister Donna, parents in law, Mick and Majella Feery (Killeenmore, Killeigh), brother in law, Michael, relatives, and his many dear friends.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.