Moving tributes paid to a Scout leader at both Tipperary and national level

There was a deep sense of shock in the Clonmel community to hear of the passing of John Casey, a legendary figure in the scouting movement at local and national levels for decades.

John, a former staff member of The Nationalist newspaper, passed away on Sunday at Waterford Regional Hospital, surrounded by his loving and heartbroken family.

“He was the finest and funniest man you could meet. A man of great nature who just loved life,” said his close friend Deputy Seamus Healy.

John Casey first became involved with the scouts in Clonmel as a First Aid instructor in 1962 and every year for 63 years went on the annual camp with the Clonmel scout troop in Ireland and overseas.

READ MORE: Profound sadness in the community at the passing of one of Clonmel's finest

“He was the heart and soul of scouting in Clonmel. He was front and centre of everything on those great trips,” said Deputy Healy.

John was a unit leader at Clonmel Boy Scouts for over 40 years and was well-known at regional and national level where he would have carried out duties as an instructor and examiner at competitions.

His lifelong dedication to scouting and his achievements at local and national levels were recognised some years ago when he was presented with the Silver Wolfhound award, a rare accolade, and the highest honour the scouting movement can award.

Tributes were also paid by the Mayor of Clonmel, Cllr Pat English, another close personal friend.

“John was always young at heart. He had a great way of relating to young people. His commitment and dedication to scouting over decades is one of the reasons why scouting is so strong in Clonmel today. He was highly respected all over the country by scout leaders because of his passion for scouting and the work he carried out in scouting at all levels,” said Cllr English.

“John was a devoted family man, and outside of that, his extended family was the scouting movement and his colleagues from The Nationalist newspaper where he worked,” said Cllr English

“Outside of his own family, he had a scouting family and a Nationalist family. He loved meeting up with his former work colleagues and loved maintaining contact with past and present staff by collecting the weekly Lotto money from them, “ said Cllr English.

John Casey spearheaded the National Lottery syndicate for The Nationalist staff and was in his element when the numbers came up twice. John was at the centre of the celebrations during two memorable trips to National Lottery headquarters in Dublin as staff went to collect their winnings.

In 2001, the Nationalist syndicate pulled off the scoop of a lifetime, winning a €1,000,000 Lotto jackpot, leaving members €31,000 richer.

Eight years previously, the staff won £400,000 in the National Lottery, giving each member £14,500.

John served his apprenticeship with the Sporting Press before moving to The Nationalist in the mid-seventies.
He worked as a compositor with the newspaper. He operated the Kilschograph machine in the Nationalist, while Letterpress printing was the order of the day.

He took over the responsibility of the camera room and platemaking operations when the newspaper changed to Lithographic printing in 1979.

John collected the Lotto money every week from the staff in Queen Street and continued to collect the money after he and the other compositors were made redundant in 2007 following another technology transition made in the newspaper.

It meant that John was always a welcome caller to the office following his departure and staff would have also called to his house with the Lotto money where an enjoyable chat to catch up was the order of the day.

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John is pre-deceased by his parents, Willie and Peggy Casey and his wonderful wife Helen.
Sadly missed by his sisters Jean and Sheila and brothers-in-law, Denis and Frank.
Forever missed by his son Sean and daughters Joan, Marie and Claire. Sons-in-law Andrew and Declan, daughter-in-law Fiona.
Adored by his grandchildren Evan (and his wife Angela), Amy, Eoin, Emma, Harry, Aoife, Logan, Millie and Ollie and his great-grandchild Chloe.

The funeral mass takes place today (Wednesday March 25) at SS Peter & Paul's Church, Gladstone Street, Clonmel at 1pm. Burial afterwards at St Patrick’s Cemetery.