The Stradbally area is in mourning this evening following the death of John Donohue senior, a popular and widely respected stalwart of the local community and a butcher in the town for almost 50 years.
John ran the family butcher’s shop in Stradbally for 49 years prior to his retirement in 2014.
John is survived by his wife Vera – who is also hugely active in the Stradbally community and a leading member of the town’s Active Retirement Group – and his sons Diarmuid, Donal and John and daughters Maria and Eva.
He is also mourned by a large circle of family and friends.
John was a lifelong Fianna Fáil supporter and a regular on church gate collections and in funeral guards of honour. His brother Owen is the current chairman of the party’s Cumann in Stradbally.
“John was a decent, highly respected person who loved the Little Town,” said local councillor Paschal McEvoy.
“John was a great business man who kept his butcher shop open for almost five decades until his retirement and no customer ever left his shop with out meat whether they had money or not.
“He will be sadly missed by one and all.”
He was also a staunch Stradbally GAA man and served in a variety of roles over the years. The family are steeped in the history of the local club.
His son Donal captained Stradbally when they ended a 56-year famine to win the Laois SFC title in 1997 while another son Diarmuid was also on the side and both were involved again when they retained the title in 1998.
Youngest son John then won senior medals in 2005 and 2016, continuing a very proud tradition.
The death of John Donohue Snr is the third death of a pillar of the Stradbally community in recent months – following on from the passing of Michael Mulhare in September and Bill Deegan in November.
John is reposing at his residence on Friday, January 25, from 3 o clock to 9 o clock with recital of the Rosary at 8 o clock Friday evening. Arriving to The Sacred Heart Church Stradbally on Saturday at 12 noon for Requiem Mass. Interment to follow in Oakvale Cemetery.
House private on Saturday morning please.
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