Book of condolences to record villager’s tributes to president

THE Tipperary parish that US President Ronald Reagan called home is to commemorate his passing by opening a book of condolence to be signed by members of the public.

Ballyporeen Community Council will also send a wreath to the United States Embassy in Dublin as a gesture of sympathy with the American people following the death of their former head of state.

It also plans to hold a religious service at the local Church of the Assumption, where Ronald and Nancy Reagan knelt in prayer during their 1984 visit to the South Tipperary village.

Martin Nevile, then as now the Community Council chairman, said yesterday that local people had been aware for some time of the President’s deteriorating health, but said they were genuinely saddened at his passing.

“Everybody has a memory of his visit and the buzz it created. It meant a lot to the people of Ballyporeen. It was a huge event for a small community,” he said.

Mr Neville was the first person to greet the President and First Lady when they stepped off the Marine One helicopter after it landed on the local football field. “It is something I will never forget,” he said.

The four-year build-up to the presidential visit and the following years were hectic ones for John and Mary O’Farrell, who named their pub the Ronald Reagan Lounge after the President.

It became the focus of worldwide publicity before and after the President’s visit 20 years ago.

Mary O’Farrell recalled the events of June 3, 1984. Sitting in the premises, which are currently on the market, and surrounded by a wall of photographs and artifacts from his visit, she paid tribute to Mr Reagan.

“We are all saddened by his passing, but he has been ill for ten years and in the end it must have been a release,” she said, describing his visit to Ballyporeen as a wonderful time.

President Reagan got a shock when he was introduced to his lookalike and cousin, Myles O’Regan, during the visit to Ballyporeen to trace his roots.

Myles, from Ardeen, Buttevant, made headlines at home and abroad when he and other distant relatives of Mr Regan’s met with the President during his 1984 visit.

The meeting in the lounge of John and Mary O’Farrell’s bar left as big an impression on the President as it did on his cousin, who died last year.

“You are certainly a cousin of mine,” he told Myles after taking one look at the Ardeen farmer, who told him it was a great honour to meet him.