London Irish community bids fond farewell to a great Tipperary man

Up to a thousand members of the London Irish community and other mourners assembled in north London on a miserably wet morning last Thursday, November 2 to pay their last respects to the late Tom Milne, a native of Lorrha in north Tipperary.

Tom, aged 79, passed away in Barnet Hospital on Thursday October 19. 

A full to overflowing Church of St Mary Magdalen, Whetstone awaited his remains for the Funeral Mass, which was celebrated by Tipperary priest Fr Dermot O’Neill, supported by local parish priest Fr Ben Woodley PP.

The cortege was met by a gathering of mourners from both sides of the Irish Sea including representatives of the Brothers Pearse GAA Club, Lorrha GAA Club, London GAA County Board, members of the London GAA Golf Association, the London Tipperary Association and the Council of Irish Counties Association, who formed a guard of honour.

All these groups and associations in the local Irish community had been positively impacted by the late Tom Milne’s enormous contribution since he first made London his home back in 1962. Tom’s remains were brought into the church with the sound of the Tipperary anthem "Slievenamon" being played in the background.                               

Tom’s funeral service was very much a London Irish community occasion, with a strong emphasis on his love for family and not just his own close family members but also the close affinity he had with his sports' organisation.

Tom’s love of family and sport (including his lifelong support for the blue and gold of Tipperary hurling) was well and truly exemplified during the course of this funeral service.

Apart from the celebrant’s own short, succinct eulogy, it was left to Tom’s friend of sixty years, John Dunning, to begin the ceremony with his inimitable delivery of a synopsis of Tom’s distinguished life.

The composition, which included many colourful and humorous incidents drawn from his life as a popular publican in a number of various establishments in London and on the golf course, and the splendid delivery by the orator, accurately set the tone for the sombre occasion, which was also enhanced by some beautiful singing from Barry Owen and Tom’s grand daughter Lauren Milne. 

John Dunning concluded his eulogy by saying: “There are so many wonderful stories of Tom, far too many to share in this short time with you all, but I hope we can carry this on at Mill Hill later today, It has been a privilege to have been your friend all these years and to get to stand here today and remember you. We will all miss you greatly”. 

It was left to Tom’s brave son Tony to conclude the eulogies and many would agree that Tom would have been very proud of the appropriate few words of verse he had to say about the exceptional man that his father really was. 

Tom Milne’s final journey was to East Finchley on a very wet morning, and where he was laid to rest in Islington and St Pancras cemetery.

Once again singer Barry Owen provided sang during the interment service, as Tom was laid to rest to the strains of the song "Galtee Mountain Boy".

Conditions were not very conducive for graveside orations but Brothers Pearse hurling legend and Limerick native Gerry Rea paid a short tribute and acknowledged Tom for his enormous contribution and legacy to the 102-year-old club. 

Later that afternoon the mourners, relatives and friends assembled at Mill Hill Golf Club, where Tom had been a member for many years, and was also the club captain in 2005. Quite a number of portraits of Tom Milne adorned the building for the afternoon, as people from many strands of Tom’s distinguished life got the opportunity to meet one another and exchange their own personal memories of a very special individual and also a great Tipperary man. 

Deepest sympathy is extended to Tom’s partner Kathy, son Tony and wife Jane, daughters Susan and partner Adrian, Michelle and partner Tony, grandchildren and great grandchildren, relatives including his brothers John and Tony and sisters Anne, Bunnie, Marie and Betty, and numerous friends on both sides of the Irish Sea. 

Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís.

Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.