The late Clement Gallagher - a huge void in the dancing community

The recent death of Clement Gallagher of Meenacahan, Inver was learned of with great sadness over a wide area.

His death in Galway University Hospital, after a short illness,  came as a huge shock to the local community and especially in the community of Irish dancing and set dancing, of which he was such a vital part in his role as dance teacher.

Possessed of a very even temperament and great communication skills, his lost vocation for teaching was eventually fulfilled through his dance classes.

Clement’s early education came in Meenacahan NS and Doobin NS before becoming a boarder in St Eunan’s College, Letterkenny in 1965. After college he spent 18 months with the Kiltegan Fathers. At college the main pastime was  Gaelic football and Clement along with future county players such as his lifelong friend Martin Carney, Hugh McClafferty and Enda Bonner went on to win a MacLarnon Cup medal in 1968. 

Back home Clement joined the old P&T in 1973 and worked with them until retiring in 1992. It was then that he found his true vocation, teaching Irish dancing and later early in the new millennium set dancing. His skills were such that his schedule was a very busy one, from teaching in schools to night classes in much of the south-west.

The outpouring of grief and sadness in the dancing community was reflected by the numbers attending his wake and funeral, not just from the length and breadth of Donegal, but also from neighbouring counties, people who had been touched by his welcoming ways. His weekly set dancing class in Ardara has been one of the highlights for many in the south-west for close on 20 years.

His football career continued with St Naul’s after college and he was selected as captain by manager Michael O’Boyle to lead the Parish of Inver side in their junior championship winning year of 1972, while still only 21. At his wake Michael said that there were some noses out of joint at the time but he felt he had the leadership skills and football ability and he was proved right.

Clement’s demise came as a shock to all because he was such a healthy and fit person.

The huge attendances at his wake and again at his funeral, which took place to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Frosses, reflected the esteem in which he was held in the numerous roles he held.

A regular Mass goer, he played a huge role in the church in Frosses as part of the choir, as a lay reader and Minister of the Eucharist.

There were guards of honour from his former workmates in the P&T, from St Naul’s GAA Club and the Set Dancing community at his funeral.

The funeral Mass was celebrated by Fr James Sweeney, PP, Frosses, assisted by Clement’s cousin, Fr Rory Brady; Fr Morty O’Shea and Fr Pat Mernagh, PP of Kilmore, Wexford.

The offertory gifts included a sheep shears, dancing shoes, rosary beads, tweed cap,  St Naul’s flag and photo of St Naul’s 1972 championship team, items which reflected his varied and active life.

Martin Carney and Finbarr Gallagher did the readings while Clement’s daughters Tara and Ruth sang the Responsorial Psalm. Fittingly at the end of Mass musicians from all over Donegal played a selection of traditional music.

After the requiem Mass, Clement’s remains were interred in the adjoining cemetery.

Predeceased by his parents Augustine and Mamie, Clement is survived by his wife Kathleen; daughters Kelly Beirne (Padraig), Tara and Ruth Stamp (Michael); by grandchild Aideen;  by his siblings Olive, Yvonne, Eunan, Naomi, Dympna and Finbarr, brothers and sisters-in-law, aunt Roisin Herron, uncle Donal Kelly, nephews and nieces, relations, neighbours, friends, Ardara Set Dancers and extended dancing community.