Deputy Charlie Flanagan has led the tributes following the death of Dave Conroy from Derrycloney, Mountmellick, a long-time supporter of Fine Gael and a former town councillor.
Mr Conroy was aged in his late 80s. He was a lifelong friend of the Flanagan family and very close to the late Oliver J Flanagan throughout his political career.
He spent his working career in the finance department of Laois County Council and was a visible presence on the local political scene up until recently.
“It’s with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Dave Conroy,” said Deputy Flanagan.
“He has been a family friend of mine since I was born. He was very close to my father and has been a strong Fine Gael activist since 1948.
“He was one of a small number of people who approached me in 1987 to run for the Dáil and since then he has been a loyal supporter.
“The two great hallmarks of Dave Conroy as a person were loyalty and perfection. He was loyal to his family, to his politics, to his work in Laois County Council and to Mountmellick.
“And his second great trait was that he was a perfectionist. He was a stickler for detail and doing things right. Any job worth doing was worth doing right.
“He didn’t miss an election since 1948. He was a great man for detail and for remembering elections of the past.
“He will be a loss to Mountmellick and beyond. My deepest sympathies are with his son Fergal, daughter Ann, Fergal’s wife Siobhán and his grandchildren Pádraig and Ruairí.”
His two children have continued the family tradition by being actively involved with Fine Gael. Fergal ran for the party in last year’s local elections when Dave attended the count in Portlaoise while Ann plays a key role in the party’s tally team at election counts.
Dave was predeceased by his wife Moira (nee Moss), his sisters Bessie and Loretta and brothers Seán and Ger. He is deeply regretted by his son Fergal, daughter Ann, daughter-in-law Siobhán, grandsons Ruairí and Pádraig, his sisters-in-law Agnes (Babs), Mary-Olive, Eileen, Ann and Frances, his brothers-in-law Jim and Robert, nieces, nephews and a large circle of neighbours and friends.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Dave’s funeral will be for his immediate family. Requiem mass on Wednesday at 11am in St Joseph’s Church in Mountmellick woth burial immediately afterwards.
Family time on Wednesday morning please. People are welcome to attend in the precincts of the Funeral Home, Church and Cemetery during the services and en-route from the family home, Derrycloney to St. Joseph’s Church and onwards to St. Joseph’s Cemetery. David’s Requiem Mass will be live streamed on www.mountmellickparish.ie.
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