Local Faces: Brian Kelly

FROM the second Fettercairn’s Brian Kelly sits down to talk to me, he insists that the valuable voluntary work he does in his community isn’t any big deal and that anyone would do it, writes Ken Doyle.

Here at The Echo, our business is to disavow him of that notion because it’s people like Brian who make communities work and for countless years, he’s been at the sharp end of community work in Fettercairn.

“I’m not looking for medals or stripes,” Brian tells me, hammering the point home, “I’ll have to think of a few spoofs to tell you to make myself sound interesting!” He adds with a laugh.

Brian started life in Crumlin, Cashel Avenue to be exact, and was educated at Clogher Road Tech. “I left school when I was thirteen and got a job at the old Raleigh Ireland plant on the quays.”

‘I suggest that it must have been a cool job for a young fella back then and he laughs and says “Believe me, it was in no way cool.

‘I was sticking spokes in wheels all day, it’s not as if I was riding round on the bikes testing them out!”

He then moved on to some years as a clerk at a legal firm on Dame Street and numerous different positions followed.

He did a couple of years at The Independent and laboured on building sites before eventually becoming a qualified plumber, mostly working on houses as a pipefitter.

As he puts it himself, “I did anything and everything to keep the wolf from the door.

I just went where the work was over the years and we managed okay.”

Life was about to change for Brian in a big way. 49 years ago, he married his beloved Helena and three years later, they would move to their forever home in Fettercairn.

It’s fair to say they loved it straight away, and Brian got stuck right into community work as soon as they arrived.

“I suppose you could say the first voluntary work I ever did was with Fettercairn Football Club.

‘At different times I looked after the teams from under nines to under fourteens and it was a great time.

‘My two sons Daniel and David were decent players in their day and they were involved too.

‘It was a great time. I’ve always been a football man and that was the first time I was ever involved in the administrative side of the game. I enjoyed every second of it.”

Not long after, Brian started volunteering with Fettercairn Community Centre helping out with all of the activities the Centre provided for the local populace.

Brian was so skilled at dealing with people and so dedicated to the place that fifteen years ago, they elected him to the board.

As time went on, the value of Brian’s contributions were noticed (even if he didn’t notice it himself) and he was elected to successful stints as Vice Chairperson and Chairperson.

“The facility we have now up in Fettercairn is fantastic and we run all sorts of programs for the local people. I’ve been at the heart of things like the annual summer project and the Christmas disco which are huge parts of our calendar and are always great craic.”

Although Brian is based in Fettercairn, his good work hasn’t been limited to his own area.

Far from it. And he’s picked up many skills along the way.

“Well it’s been a very personally enriching process but I wanted to help people less fortunate no matter where they were, so I became a Drama Teacher at St Anne’s School with James Butler.

‘I actually also taught chess there and we had some great young players with us at the time.”

Another skill Brian was trained in was jewellery-making and he would soon put that to good use.

“I had a lovely period working with the people from Cheeverstown doing jewellery classes with them.

‘It was brilliant and very therapeutic for them. It was fantastic to see the pride in their faces when they presented their finished pieces.

‘It’s amazing to see the change in people when you help focus their minds on something, especially something with an end result.

‘They were very happy years.”

“I also taught Drama at the Mount Street Club from 1999 to 2002 and there we worked with people from the Irish Wheelchair Association. One of my proudest achievements was when we put on a play at a hall in Islandbridge.

‘It was a huge success and hopefully a lot of the people who took part have great memories of it, because I certainly do.”

Not content with all of this, Brian volunteered for two years with St John of God’s which he loved and he’s given 10 years service to Fettercairn Community Health Project.

Add to that the seven years volunteering at an after-school club in Brookfield for kids aged from 8 to 12.

Brian has also, at last count, been Santy five times and he does a mean Donald Trump impression too.

In a desperate last minute bid to move the attention away from himself, Brian starts waxing lyrical about all of the people he works with.

He singles out for special praise Debbie Lee-Byrne, the Centre Manager (the captain of the ship according to Brian!).

“I’d also like to thank Adam, Rory, Rebecca and all of the workers and board members, along with the people of Fettercairn who make what I do such a complete joy.”

Brian has no plans yet to slow down and he sees the future of Fettercairn as very bright.

He’s a contented man, settled in his beloved Fettercairn with Helena and now, Daniel and David have provided 5 grandchildren to keep him on his toes, namely Amy, Hannah, Aaron, Conor and Seán.

“We’re here at the foot of the mountains. The view is great and the people are fantastic. Where else would I want to be?”