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Gerard Bracken (1919 -2005) RIP

Western People:

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

In memory of a true gentleman
By: James Laffey

It was entirely fitting that on the week he died Newport’s Gerry Bracken had a full page of district notes in the Mayo News. In all my time in Westport I never saw Gerry miss a week or a deadline. And he was true to form right up to the very end. With his 86th birthday only days away he was e-mailing his district notes into the Mayo News like a man half his age. Twenty years after he retired as Editor of the Westport-based newspaper Gerry was still as active and as enthusiastic as ever. As he said himself in a recent radio interview, the newspaper ink was in his blood and his life was inextricably entwined in his beloved Mayo News.
There have been many tributes to Gerry Bracken in recent days and there will be many more to come. They are all richly deserved. The eulogists – and many of them knew Gerry a lot longer than this writer – have variously described him as an even-tempered, good-humoured and generous man, traits of his character we all knew and recognised.
Gerry Bracken was a gentleman in every sense of that oft-used word. Indeed, it could be said that he was a man from another era, a gentler time when journalism was a far nobler and a more honourable profession than it is to-day.
If this writer were asked to describe Gerry Bracken in a single sentence I would say that he was one of the sincerest men I have ever known. There was nothing phony about Gerry and there nothing pretentious. Nor was there a shred of hypocrisy in his body. The face was open and honest. What you saw was what you got and you always knew where you stood with Gerry.
If he was unhappy – and it was a rare event, indeed – he let you know in that firm but gentle manner of his. He wasn’t given to temper tantrums or unreasonable demands. His commonsense approach to life was something he brought into the newspaper business and it was always evident in his dealings with the staff in the Mayo News. No challenge was too great for Gerry and he was blessed with a stoicism and a serenity that the rest of us can only pray for!
The last time I saw Gerry was shortly after Christmas when I stopped into his house while on a visit to Newport. We talked about newspapers and we talked about Gaelic football. Gerry, as was his wont, recalled some of the stories of the old days in the Mayo News, the ‘hot metal’ days as he would always describe them. He recalled the haphazard nature of the newspaper business back then and the pressures that he and his news editor, Martin Curry, often worked under. One story, in particular, has stayed in my mind. In those days the Mayo News was printed in Westport and Gerry would have to wait in the office until the first ‘proofs’ came off the printing presses to correct any errors that might have occurred. Sometimes, it could be as late as 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. before the ‘proofs’ landed on Gerry’s desk. In the meantime he had nothing to do but kick his heels as he waited for the printing presses to roll. Often he would find himself walking the streets of Westport in the early hours of the morning, looking in shop windows as he desperately tried to kill the time that was on his hands!
Of course, he could have gone home and taken his chances with the ‘proofs’, but that would not have been Gerry Bracken’s style. His commitment and loyalty to the Mayo News was remarkable. Indeed, he could hardly have been more loyal had he owned the newspaper himself. He lived and breathed the Mayo News in the way that so many people live and breathe their local newspaper. Gerry’s was a love borne out of a childhood reading the Mayo News in Newport in the 1930s. He counted himself fortunate to be in a position to edit his local newspaper.
Working and writing for the Mayo News was as much an honour for Gerry as it was a day-to-day job. He had a healthy regard for those who were passionate about the Mayo News and a healthy indifference for those who were gratuitously critical of the newspaper. Perhaps his greatest trait was that he managed to maintain a love and a devotion to the newspaper business right up to the very end. He may have been dubious about some of the more outlandish changes that had occurred in journalism but it was always in a good-humoured way. I can truthfully say that I never heard the man utter a bitter word.
Many of Gerry’s colleagues in the newspaper industry knew only the public man – the editor and, latterly, the district notes correspondent. I was fortunate to get a glimpse of the private man through my occasional – indeed, far too occasional – visits to his home in Newport.
There are certain houses that are an absolute pleasure to visit and Gerry Bracken’s was one of them. You would hardly have crossed the threshold before Gerry and his wife, Baby, would have a cup of tea and a plate of cakes and buns thrust into your hand. Then it was into the sitting room for a chat that could go on for hours – if time allowed.
Indeed, if ever one needed an antidote from the ‘mad, mad world’ that we inhabit it was a visit to Gerry and Baby Bracken’s. Their love and respect for each other was as enduring as it was inspiring. After more than fifty years of marriage, Gerry and Baby were still as deeply in love as when they walked down the aisle all those years ago. They were inseparable and I can only imagine the intense sadness and personal loss that Baby feels at this time.
I am sure, though, she will be comforted by the fact that her late husband touched the lives of so many in such a positive way. His involvement in the GAA and his indefatigable support for the enhancement of his native town were among his finest achievements. For many, Gerry Bracken was ‘Mr Newport’ and his loss to the town and the surrounding region is incalculable.
But Gerry’s most enduring legacy will surely be found in the pages of the Mayo News – and that is what he would have wanted.
There is something timeless about a newspaper. It captures a moment in time and holds it forever. Gerry Bracken in his long and distinguished career as a journalist captured many moments in time. They are there for everyone to see in the editions of the Mayo News that are held on microfilm in Mayo County Library in Castlebar. Take any edition from the 1950s, the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s and right up to May 4th, 2005, and you will find Gerry Bracken’s by-line somewhere in the pages. It is an extraordinary legacy: more than a half a century of journalism and every single day of it spent in the service of the same newspaper. We are unlikely to see such a record again in our lifetimes or, indeed, in the lifetime of any Irish newspaper.
No doubt, Gerry would look on these various eulogies with a mixture of bemusement and amusement. He was a humble, self-effacing man, not given to self-aggrandisement of any sort. If anything, he was too modest, always downplaying his considerable role in the survival of the Mayo News during some of the most difficult years in its history.
Yet this week could not be allowed to pass without a tribute to Gerry Bracken. For this writer he was – and always will be – one of the ‘father figures’ of journalism in Mayo. He was a man I looked up to, he was a man I respected and I will always be proud to say that he was a personal friend.
Rest easily, Gerry, for you have truly earned your place in Heaven.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

A legend in his own time
By Christy Loftus

Ger Bracken is dead. He was, in his own way, in his own area, a legend in his time. He was a few days short of his 86th birthday. Being a neighbour and being connected to him, I was called on to give him a hand when it arose that he had to go to the hospital early on Tuesday morning last.
He had felt unwell during the night and the doctor had quite properly prescribed the hospital. He had attempted to walk from the bedroom to the waiting car and had taken weak. So I was called into action. When I appeared at his bedroom door he straightened himself, refused any assistance and walked, stubbornly, independently and erect to the car.
He was a man who did not admit weakness. He was a man of great integrity, he was a man who believed in doing things for himself. He was editor of the Mayo News when I joined that paper for my first job in journalism. He was a good man to work under.
He was a member of the National Union of Journalists up until he retired from his post as editor and he was made an honorary life member in his retirement. Of course he never retired. He continued to work right up to the day he went into hospital for the last time. Even in hospital he worried about an item of news for the next issue of his paper.
He had three great, simple loves in his life, his family and friends, his football and his faith. His three fs. They are not listed in order of priority as the priority changed depending on the season. When the football season was in, it vied with the family, and even Baby, for priority.
He was, with one exception, an even tempered man. The exception was when Burrishoole was playing football and, to a lesser extent, when Mayo was playing. He always put club before county. When Burrishoole was playing, this placid man was capable of becoming a raging volcano. He knew no reason, would brook no argument. There was ever only one team playing football and that was Burrishoole and the only reason they were ever beaten was because the referee had been got at or was blind or was totally inept.
In the normal course of events he was a well mannered man. Yet he never felt the need to apologise to any referee he berated. Manners did not come into it when a referee was assisting the opposition.
And his football ire was not confined to referees. He could roundly, but never profanely, it has to be said, abuse his best friends of long standing from opposing clubs. He could do it and not lose his friends. Whatever he might say was quickly forgotten about. He might continue to fume and rage for a time but he never carried things outside the gates of the football field. He gave a very practical expression to his love of faith. He sang his heart out for his church. He was a member of the Newport Church choir as a boy and he continued to be a member, to sing at Sunday mass and funerals right up to the eve of his death. He was unstinting in his support of the choir and rarely missed a practice.
He was a well rounded man. His love of music led him into the band business. He was a member of the Moonlight Serenaders and played in halls up and down the country at a time when there was little profit but marvellous experience to be gained. Boy bands how are ya! This was a boys and girl band and Ger Bracken got the girl. Baby Cusack who later married Ger and was his constant, loving, caring partner was also a member of the band.
He was a hackney driver before he entered journalism, a career he practiced with dedication, commitment and, above all, integrity. He was an editor in the style of his day, providing even and balanced coverage of stories and editorial comment. He had his political convictions, but he never wore them on his sleeve and he never allowed those convictions to cloud his editorial judgement. He was a well read man and had a keen sense of national and world issues but his local area was his oyster. Newport/Mulranny were his main areas of concern and then Mayo. The rest of the world could wait to be fixed. And he did not wait for others to fix his native place. He got stuck in and played his part.
He was involved in practically every initiative that was started to develop and promote the area. He took part in and directed plays, concerts and musical revues that involved the community, broadened horizons and provided experience. He directed and produced shows for the Tops of the Town involving young and old alike.
He was in at the start of the (many) local development committees, he worked on the original Grainne Uaile festival committee and continued his support of the latest group promoting business in the area through the festival. He used his pen and later his computer (he mastered the intricacies of computers late in life but with a simple ease) in his widely read Newport Roundabout in the Mayo News to promote anything that was for the good of the area.
When he was convinced that Newport was not receiving its “fair share”, it was no bother to him to go on the offensive and call down dire perdition on the culpable ones. He had his own, perhaps strange, sense of humour and he could chuckle at those who were the butt of his ire without for a moment compromising his view of how things should be.
Because he was generally a quiet man, when he raged, he was effective. Things did not always get done immediately but they were put on the agenda and he was the persistent type who kept his eye on the agenda. Advancing years did not dim his commitment. He went to his reward still battling, still unbowed, still independent, still loving his Baby and family, still loving his football and his native place. And with his integrity totally intact.

Mayo News

Mr Gerard Bracken, Newport

MR Gerard Bracken, Sandymount, Newport, who died at Mayo General Hospital on May 4, 2005, was a former editor of The Mayo News and was one of the West’’s best-known journalists.

He was aged 85 years and, for more than 60 years, he was one of Newport’’s frontline community activists, vigorously promoting and working for all good causes in the area.

Gerry, as he was popularly known, died following a short illness.

He was a journalist of great integrity and was held in very high esteem by his colleagues in the profession. He was a member of the National Union of Journalists from his entry into journalism and, following his retirement 18 years ago, he was awarded honorary life membership of the union, an accolade only given to those who have served the profession with distinction and integrity.

In his professional career he reported numerous high profile stories that made headlines around the world including the visit of Princess Grace of Monaco to the home of her ancestors at Drimulra, near Newport, the visit of Beatle John Lennon and Yoko Ono to Mulranny and the tragic drowning of a foreign TV crew working on a project in Clew Bay. He was one of a few journalists trusted with interviews by the Rainier family.

For most of his lifetime he was involved with the GAA in the area and was a committee member of Burrishoole GAA since the club was founded. He is a former Registrar of Mayo GAA Board.

He became a boy member of Newport Church Choir and continued as a member of the choir right up to the eve of his death. From his early days he had an interest in music and was a member of the Moonlight Serenaders band which played in community halls around the country in the 1940s and 1950s. He also had an interest in amateur drama and theatricals and was responsible for staging many concerts and revues in his native town. He directed and produced local talent shows and took part successfully in The Tops of the Town competition.

Mr Bracken was involved in practically all organisations in the area involved in the promotion and development of Newport and used his talents as a journalist to highlight the problems and the advantages of the area.

Following his retirement he continued to cover the Newport/Mulranny area for The Mayo News and his Newport Roundabout which contained all the local news of births, deaths and marriages, sport, social and cultural events became a by-word for the defence of his native place against what he would perceive as ‘official neglect’.

He used his pen to good effect to promote his area and also to defend and highlight Newport/Mulranny when, in his view, the need arose. A quiet and generally even tempered man, he could be and was trenchant in his criticisms as the occasion demanded.

He will be greatly missed by his wife Baby (Elizabeth), his daughters Geraldine (Dublin) and Dolores (Breaffy), sons-in-law Gerard Clarke and Dermot Gannon, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, relatives and many friends. He will also be fondly remembered by a wider congregation of Burrishoole people who, irrespective of their location throughout the world, remained in contact with their home place through his weekly reports in The Mayo News.

His remains reposed at the family home at Sandymount on Friday before being removed to the Newport parish church. A Guard of Honour was provided by the Burrishoole GAA club, by his current and former colleagues in the Mayo News and the NUJ and other local groups.

Requiem Mass for the repose of his soul was celebrated on Saturday by his nephew, Fr David Loftus (Los Angeles) assisted by Fr Eamon Concannon, PP Newport, Canon Arthur Devine and Fr Michael Nohilly. Hymns were sung by the church choir at both the church and cemetery services.

Family members read the lessons and grandchildren read the prayers of the faithful. Gerry’s daughters, Geraldine and Dolores, brought the offertory gifts to the altar.

At the outset of the Mass Fr Concannon paid generous tribute to Gerry for his commitment to his family, his faith and his community. He was the outstanding role model for those wishing to make a meaningful contribution to their community.

In his homily Fr David Loftus recalled the role that Gerry played in many of his happy childhood memories. He was a man who was hugely caring of others and throughout his life he had brought happiness to the lives of very many people. His faith was the great bulwark of his life and he lived that faith in his dealings with others.

Seán Staunton, Editor of The Mayo News, also paid tribute to Gerry for his commitment to his family, his faith, his parish and the Mayo News.

Gerry’’s coffin was draped in the Burrishoole GAA colours as he was laid to rest in Kilbride Cemetery, with the GAA and his journalist colleagues again forming a Guard of Honour at the cemetery.

Fr Loftus and Fr Concannon officiated at the graveside and Newport Church Choir sang a sad farewell to a much-loved colleague who had given long service to the choir.

May his noble and caring soul have peaceful rest

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