By Dan Walsh
Tributes have been paid to Emmett O’Connell, (88), who died at his home, Raheenduff House, Foulkesmills, on September 14th, and who, in 2015, was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame in a ceremony in New Ross and New York and was a Knight of St Gregory the Great, Knight of St John of Malta, and Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Born on June 29th, 1936, in the South Bronx, New York, he was one of five children whose father, Michael J. O’Connell hailed from Co Sligo. Their mother, Nellie was from Banteer in north Co Cork. Emmett was given his first name in honour of the rebel leader Robert Emmet (1778-1803), with a slight difference in spelling.
His sister, Deirdre O’Connell (1939-2001), who was a trained actress, moved to Dublin in her early 20s where she became a founder and artistic director of the Focus Theatre and in 1965 married the legendary singer Luke Kelly, (1940-1984), of The Dubliners.
Having visited Ireland for the first time at the age of 19, Emmett was eager to be based in the land of his ancestors. After founding a small exploration company in Ireland, it won contracts ahead of major competitors. His work took him to a wide range of destinations, including Russia, Iran, Colombia, Canada, Indonesia and across Europe.
In due course he became founder and director of several Irish-based mineral and oil exploration companies, with names such as Eglinton Exploration and Texas Continental Securities.
O’Connell took a very close interest in this country’s relationship with the European Union, believing that Ireland would have been better off if it had retained a separate currency. At the time of the referendum on Ireland’s Accession Treaty to the then European Communities (EC) in May 1972, the Common Market Study Group, which was opposed to membership, brought out a series of pamphlets, one of which was written by O’Connell.
Although the legal basis for the monetary union did not come about until the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and the euro currency did not actually begin to replace national currencies as notes and coins until January 2002, O’Connell’s pamphlet correctly predicted that there would be some problems in the eurozone.
After retiring from his last position as chairman and CEO of the Great Western Mining Corporation, he spent more time on his farm. He lived at Raheenduff House in Foulkesmill, with his wife Ray, whom he married in 1961. They had three children, Róisín, Robert-Emmet and Oisín.
In 2015, he was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame in a ceremony in New Ross and New York.
Emmet O’Connell was honoured with the following titles; Knight of St Gregory the Great, Knight of St John of Malta, Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, but sadly, suffered from dementia and other health problems in his later years.
He died peacefully at home on September 14th. His Funeral Mass on September 18th took place at St. Aidan’s Church Clongeen where symbols of his life were displayed, including roller and ice skates, his EEC pamphlet and a copy of the Financial Times with a coffee cup.
WexfordLocal.com 