Late Joe Guilfoyle, Ballyshannon native 'a proud Donegal man all his life'

There was widespread sadness in his native Ballyshannon following the recent death of Joe (Joseph) Guilfoyle (79), Luke Wadding Street, Waterford and formerly of College Street, Ballyshannon.
Deceased was a lifelong member and President of the Holy Family Conference, St. Vincent de Paul, in Waterford.
All his time and energy in helping others was his primary focus during his 53 years of service, with his family “at the centre of his life”.
At his Funeral Mass, Fr Gerard Langford P.P. said that no words could express the feeling of loss and sadness on such a day.
“Joe’s passing will leave an emptiness and sorrow in your hearts, but we are grateful today, for his good and fruitful life of 79 well lived years,” he said.
“We can only feel a sense of thankfulness for him and the goodness that he brought into this world. We bring to mind the kind and generous man, who lived a rewarding and dedicated life, always there for his family and loved ones.
“As you know, Joe came originally from Ballyshannon in the lovely county of Donegal. And he remained a proud Donegal man all his life, often returning back to his native county, for visits and holidays.”

The late Joe Guilfoyle (left) was a regular visitor to his native town of Ballyshannon where he was a great supporter of keeping the game of handball alive through his yearly sponsorship of trophies at the local Mall ball alley. Here is seen presenting another batch of crystal trophies to Denis McGuinness, Ballyshannon Handball Club and chief organiser of the handball competitions

Joe’s parents, Martin and Teresa had also passed on the Christian attributes of love, kindness, decency and integrity to their children, “and Joe lived by those traditional values all his life.”
“In his working life, Joe put his hand to different jobs, he spent some time in England and after returning home, he was an electrician and also sales rep and it was always going to take something or somebody very special to take him from his beloved Donegal and move far away to Waterford,” Fr Langford said.
He met his beloved wife Leesha Dunphy in Bundoran and they later settled in Waterford.
He integrated naturally with his neighbours and friends, later dedicating 53 years as volunteer and President of the St Vincent dePaul Conference at the Holy Family Church in Waterford, helping thousands of families over the years.

“Joe was a great Vincent de Paul man and he dedicated endless hours to organising and running the Holy Family Conference. Coming close to Christmas Joe always gave a great talk here in the church about the many difficulties facing Waterford people, struggling to make ends meet. And he never lost his Donegal accent. He was always that big strong voice and you’d always know, there’s a Donegal man.”
In his native Ballyshannon the community and especially the local handball club were shocked and saddened at the passing of Joe.
Joe sponsored many handball tournaments in Ballyshannon down through the years and one of the organisers, Denis McGuinness paid his own tribute.
“I was only talking with him shortly before his untimely passing and he was already talking about next year’s tournaments and coming up to the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran with a special group of people from Waterford,” he said.
“That was an annual pilgrimage to the north west when Joe would reconnect with his home town.
“He has kept the art of handball alive in his native town of Ballyshannon by being our main sponsor of two tournaments every year for the last 12 years.

“The trophies were inscribed, beautiful Penwood crystal trophies which were very much sought after by all of the handballers, with some great games of handball played at the local Mall alley.
“The tournaments were organised to coincide with Joe’s annual trip to Bundoran giving him many opportunities to attend the events and present the prizes.
“The club would like to express our sincere sympathy to his wife and family. May his gentle soul rest in peace.”
Joe will be sadly missed by his loving wife Leesha, heartbroken daughters Eleanor, Jean and Alison, grandchildren Alice, Cathal, James, Sadie-Mai and Mikey, his adored great-granddaughter Nel, sons-in-law Liam, Tommy and Declan, brothers Bill (USA) and Pat (Ballyshannon), sister Pauline, (London), brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, extended family, relatives, neighbours and friends, to whom deepest sympathy is extended.
Requiem Mass on Sunday, September 25 in the Holy Family Church was followed by burial in Dunhill Church Cemetery.