A fully-fledged son of Carrick-on-Suir with a deep affection for his beloved town

The passing of John (Johnny) Grace caused profound sadness in his native Carrick-on-Suir and beyond.
John Grace was a devoted family man and a person who made a huge impact on sport in the town over many decades.

A stalwart of his beloved Swan club,he made a massive contribution on and off the field as a player, coach and manager over decades.

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He also made a significant contribution to other sports working selflessly to help athletes develop their skills and improve their performances.

Johnny Grace late of 2 Lissadell Park, Carrick-on-Suir died on January 2.

He is predeceased by his wife Evelyn and son Michael and parents Joe and Maura. Johnny will be sadly missed by his loving children Jacinta and Ciarán, loving companion Rebecca, brothers Noel, Maurice, Joe, sisters Patricia O Connor, Ursula Landy, sisters-in-law Birdie, Marie, brothers-in-law Seamus, Pat, grandchildren Georgina, Clodagh, Cathal, Brandon, Orlagh, Ciara, daughter-in-law Romina, son-in-law Martin, nieces, nephews, extended family, neighbours and friends.
John was born on the 26 January 1944 to his parents Joe and Maura Grace.

In due course, Johnny was joined by beloved siblings, Noel, Patricia, Maurice, Ursula and Joe.
Around 1953 the Grace family moved to New Street where his brother Noel continues to reside.
Johnny was a fully-fledged son of Carrick- on- Suir and he had a deep connection to and a love for the historic place of his birth.

In the 1940s and 50s the streets, the banks of the river, the castle were his playground – one big adventure park for his siblings and friends.

Johnny attended the CBS in Carrick.He was a bright student academically and he completed his Leaving Cert at CBS.
From a very early age Johnny’s love of physical activity and sport began to emerge.

When it came to sport, Johnny was both exceptional in terms of his skills which could be described as “ a pure athlete, a hurler, a footballer, a boxer, a long-distance runner not to mention a highly qualified physio, trainer, nutritionist and coach!”

He played midfield for the Swan team that won the inaugural U21 Hurling championship back in 1961.In 1962 Johnny played on a minor football team for Tipperary.

He was called up for the Swan’s senior hurling team as a young age which was a very proud moment for Johnny and his family.
Around this time, Johnny discovered a new sporting interest of boxing.

From early beginnings in the Boxing Club in Carrick he began to excel in The Ring.
He worked his way from provincial to national level – competing as a middleweight in the Irish national championship finals.
Whilst travelling to London for work, he had the honour of representing Ireland in the Middleweight Division.

Johnny, and his brother Noel, were employed for a number of years by a French based company (who held an Irish Government contract) to undertake systematic soil analysis.

The intention of that project was to seek out and mine precious minerals.

Both Johnny and Noel travelled right across Ireland doing this analysis. As the contract was coming to an end, the company encouraged them to take up further opportunities outside of Ireland, in France and other places.
Noel noticed that Johnny was not inclined to take up the offer.

GOOD REASON
Johnny admitted that he had a very good reason to stay in Ireland as he had met someone very special!
A young lady called Evelyn Walsh from Caherclough in the parish of Powerstown/Lisronagh and that they had been writing to each other for some time.

Evelyn and Johnny had met sometime earlier at a function in the Miss Kitty Club in the Ormonde Hall in Carrick.
Johnny and Evelyn loved dancing and jiving and music would always play an important part in his life.
They were married in Powerstown Church in 1969.

Johnny and Evelyn honeymooned in Paris, calling to see the relatives in Brighton on the way.
Evelyn was a keen camogie player with the Moyle Rovers and as they were now living in the area, Johnny took up playing football and hurling with the Moyle Rovers Club for a number of years and he was very proud of that Rovers connection.
In 1970 their first child Michael was born. In 1971 Johnny and Evelyn returned home to Carrick to the newly built housing development of Lissadell.

In time, Michael was joined by his siblings Jacinta and Ciarán.
By the mid 1970s and the 80s, Johnny was now a young husband and father and he put his energies into building up a very successful career in sales, working for the Staedtler company and branching out with Ronnie Moore and others.
He won many accolades and awards for his work in the sales industry and was even flown out to Japan to receive recognition, for all that he achieved in that sphere.

Away from the office, Johnny continued to pursue physical fitness and engaged in marathon running - competing in the Cork, Dublin and London marathons, achieving a personal best of 2hrs 51 mins well into his 40’s!
Following a car crash in the 1980’s, Johnny had to slow down at bit and he turned his attention to helping others achieve their full potential in sports.

Over four years he studied and trained to become a professional physio specialising in muscle repair and massage therapy.
From his extensive reading - he began to explore and develop the idea that in the whole area of health and fitness there was a need for a holistic approach, where everything from your muscle tone, your diet and nutrition and even your mental well-being were connected.

Armed with this new approach and insights he provided training and coaching to numerous teams and clubs (throughout the region) including the very successful Moyle Rovers and Rathgormack teams of the 90’s.
He also spent time with Annacarthy, Fethard and Freshford.

And of course, with his home club, The Swan, where he was trainer of the senior team from 1998 to 2000 when they captured the South title for the 20th time!

He returned once again from 2008 to 2010 when they clinched the title again!
To quote from the Swan’s official website – where there is a lengthy and very fitting tribute to Johnny “Johnny had an encyclopaedic knowledge of what was required to get players in tip top condition for games but he also knew the frailties of the human body and that every player is different and requires different treatment – in simple terms, Johnny was ahead of the game.”

John also worked with individual private clients. In Lissadell, he converted his garage into a mini-treatment facility where he worked on players at all hours of the day, often to facilitate that persons working hours and his door was always open to everyone.

There were two personal and highly traumatic events for Johnny that would have a huge impact on his later years.
In 1997 over a very short period of time his beloved Evelyn was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died shortly after her 50th birthday.

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A short few years later his beloved son Michael was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he passed away in 2001.
In his late 70s Johnny was diagnosed with debilitating illnesses that slowly took away his independence and the last few years have been difficult ones for him and for his family.

Once he entered the nursing home there was a slow goodbye for Jacinta, Ciarán and all the family.