LETTERKENNY man Joe McDaid has been remembered for his cool, calm and collected nature at his requiem Mass on Saturday.

Mr McDaid, of 33 Beechwood Road, Letterkenny passed away peacefully in Letterkenny University Hospital on Tuesday, February 3.

Requiem Mass took place in the Church of the Irish Martyrs, Gortlee on Saturday.

Mr McDaid was born on February 6, 1935, to parents Patrick and Bridget. He would have celebrated his 91st birthday last Friday.

A native of Termon, he grew up in a busy household with six siblings.

Growing up, his mother was anxious not to lose her only son to the wave of emigration leaving Ireland in the 50s.

So instead, she encouraged him to apply to become a psychiatric nurse at St Conal’s Hospital.

On July 1, 1958, at 23 years of age, he joined the big family of staff and residents in, what was then, an enormous institution.

Addressing the congregation at Mass, Chief Celebrant Monsignor Kevin Gillespie said Mr McDaid was part of a generation of nurses and staff who oversaw the transition from institutional care to domestic and community support.

It was there he met Anna Rose McGarvey, a fellow member of staff, who he would marry in 1962.

In 2022, the pair celebrated 60 years of marriage, when the pandemic restrictions had settled down.

“Like many, the restrictions brought to an end much of the activity and the consolations of the elderly, which for Joe meant his many happy days up to then and his many happy hours on the farm in his native Termon, enjoying the quiet, the nature, and the animals,” Monsignor Gillespie said.

Mr McDaid and his wife, Anna, first settled in in Gortlee, Letterkenny, where all five of their children were born, before moving to Beechwood Road.

Their home there provided a close and happy neighbourhood for the growing family.

“The many rose bushes in the front garden bear witness to Joe’s green fingers, and I am sure Anna had a part in it too,” Monsignor Kevin Gillespie said.

“He and Anna, had there, a long and content marriage, they were well suited to each other and shared similar interests.”

Monsignor Gillespie said Anna was cool, calm and collected, as was Mr McDaid himself.

“They both enjoyed music, and particularly in later life, the opportunities to travel and to visit their family,” he said.

“They took a great interest in their grandchildren as they came along and made their way in life.”

After Mass, burial took place in St Columba’s Cemetery, Kilmacrennan.

Mr McDaid is predeceased by his wife Anna Rose, brother John and sisters Catherine and Maura.

Deeply regretted by his loving family, Patrick, Sheila, Brid, Joseph and Shaun, sons-in-law Iain and Renard, grandchildren Hugh, Emér, Sean, Marley, Deirdre and Isobel, sisters Peggy, Sadie, Frances and Julia, sister-in-law Mary, extended family and friends.