Today would have been my Gog’s 77th birthday!
My Gog’s was my only grandad I knew and the only man I have known longer than my Dad. He is called Gogs, abbreviated from Gogady as when I was a baby (the 1st Grandchild) I couldn’t pronounce Grandad! In West Kerry where he used to come on his holidays to visit us he was always known as Gogs (almost more than Paul!)
Here’s few bits bout the man himself
He made the best sweet and sour sauce
He lied when he had Open Heart Surgery so my Nana and Mom would fly to Oz that day…and lied over the phone for a further six weeks
He brought us to the model train in Malahide one summer and I remember that really well
He was the image of Rolf Harris
He used to iron our underwear and melt the elastic
He made yummy potato cakes
He used to call me portly
He never mastered texting but tried many times
He ucould never pronounce Optometrist!
He loved Guinness
He used to keep the last Turkish Delight for me
He made his very own “Sliderobes”
He once called the Spice Girls “The Spice Burgers”
He couldn’t spell
He survived cancer almost 4 decades ago against all the odds
He is responsible for passing on large legs and hint of ginge to me
He made me and my sisters triple bunk beds that we still sleep in
He hung doors in the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital or so he told me
He could sing and once when he did at party and his false teeth fell out
He used to sing songs with our names in them
He was a plumber and continued to work into his 75th year
He would often say “Slán a chailÃn” in a Dublin accent when I left the house
Today he would have been 77.
The last birthday we celebrated with him was his 75th, just weeks after he was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. I was there with my Nana the day the doctor said they found a tumour. He laughed when I cried and told me not to write him off yet! He went through all the treatment they advised and fought the cancer with all he had. This time cancer won on February 20th 2008. He passed away peacefully in St Francis Hospice Raheny. I am lucky that the last time I saw him conscious was one of his better days 5 days before he died. He wasn’t in pain and sat upright in his bed chatting. I am grateful for that last evening together…although our conversation did centre on my recent break up!
I was very lucky to have had almost 24 years with my Gogs. I and all the family miss him so much and think about him all the time!
I would like to thank St Francis Hospice for the care they gave him towards the end and the compassion they showed us at the end.
So Happy Birthday Gogs…have a Paddy and a pint on us xxx
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