Fallon's Town Talk: Tony Waldron’s death has left the county shocked and saddened
The untimely passed of Independent councillor Anthony Waldron is being deeply mourned.
The text from a friend arrived at 10.23 on Sunday morning. The news didn’t sink in straight away because it read, “Anthony Waldron has passed away.” My initial reaction was: who is Anthony Waldron? Then, in milli-seconds it hit…like a thunderbolt. Many, many people knew him as Anthony but I always called him Tony. I was genuinely stunned.
Put simply, Tony was a great person: kind, good-natured and loyal. As a county councillor or as an ordinary citizen, he always wanted the best for others and worked tirelessly for his local community and for the whole county. He was continually coming up with ideas to promote Roscommon’s tourist potential. Talking to people since his death, he was floating ideas as recently as last Friday.
Tony was generous to a fault. He loved being around people and was the most convivial and entertaining company. Thinking about him now, the mind’s eye visualises him sitting in a pub or a restaurant. Ruby King Chinese Restaurant in Roscommon Town was a particular favourite of his. The only downside of those gatherings was you had to make sure Tony didn’t pay for everyone else’s meal.
Tony would often refer to an interview we’d done when he was manager of St. Croan’s before the 2003 intermediate football final. In my time as a sports journalist, when a manager brought up a past interview, it usually meant trouble was brewing. Tony’s complimentary recollection was a rare exception to the rule.
One of my fondest memories is a fun-filled trip to Bruges in May 2009. A gang of us in the Roscommon Champion (who all ended up working together in the Roscommon Herald subsequently) took a notion to head to Belgium for a weekend away. Tony didn’t need much persuading to come along for the jaunt.
It was a hectic, foot to the floor few days. Bruges is famous for beer and chocolate so, for the sake of research, both local delicacies were sampled.
Yet, whenever Tony and I met in the years afterwards, he invariably reminisced about our somewhat hilarious efforts to find a church to get Mass on the Sunday morning. We succeeded, and attended a Mass which was celebrated in either French or Flemish. Tony’s faith was important to him.
We didn’t see as much of each other in the years after he left the county council in 2009 but whenever we met, he was the same friendly, positive person.
His triumph in the 2019 local elections was one of the most notable comeback stories in modern Roscommon politics, especially as he stood as an Independent having been a Fianna Fáil councillor during his previous stint. It was no surprise when he retained his seat last June, given how diligent and conscientious he was.
The last time we had a proper night out together was in August 2021, we had made a deal to go out when Covid restrictions had become more relaxed. I sent him a congratulatory text on June 9th when his re-election was guaranteed. He replied and suggested we set a date for a night out. To my regret, we didn’t arrange that night out, a get-together that will not happen now. What remains are the memories of the distinctive laugh of a good and decent man. Rest in peace Tony.
Just two days before the death of Tony Waldron came the news of the tragic death of legendary Galway hurler Michael Coleman in an accident when he was clearing up storm damage. Michael was a great hurler, the ultimate warrior who exemplified the traditional midfield powerhouse. For a few seasons in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was the best midfielder in the game. Michael was hard, tough, remarkably consistent and never pulled a dirty stroke.
Michael was well-known locally because he worked in ACC Bank in Roscommon Town in the 1990s. For a number of summers I ghost wrote a column Michael had in the ‘Roscommon Champion’, it was always a pleasure to meet him. It used to amuse me that an All-Ireland medal winner and multiple All-Star could walk around the town unrecognised by many non-hurling folk.
That suited Michael down to the ground. The first two phrases that come to mind about him are “laid-back” and “unassuming”. He would have been mortified and bemused if anyone made a fuss about him. Like many other successful sportspeople, he carried his greatness lightly. It wasn’t false modesty, he knew what he had achieved and didn’t feel the need to tell anybody else about it. All those tributes describing Michael as a thorough gentleman are true. May he rest in peace.
