COLM POWER
R.I.P
VADE ET TU FAC SIMILITER
It was with profound shock that that the members of the Dublin Branch first learned of the sudden death of their colleague and friend Colm Power who died on 27th September 2009. Colm was an enthusiastic and energetic member of the Classical Association of Ireland. He served on the committee of the Dublin Branch for the last two years and was always eager to step into the breach whenever the need arose. At the last committee meeting that Colm attended, on the 11th September 2009, he acted as Hon. Secretary. He expressed an interest in taking on permanently this role ‘when he improved his typing skills’. This comment characterised Colm. It expressed a willingness to learn new things, to take on new challenges and to add to his already considerable learning repertoire. Colm was a man with a wide range of knowledge. His interest in Byzantium impressed his employers at Blackrock College so much that he was allowed unique access to their library. It was at Blackrock College that his interest in the Classics was stimulated and which resulted in Colm becoming a member of the Classical Association of Ireland. Colm attended Latin classes at the John Scotus School where his teacher remarked that his homework was always completed ‘neatly and tidily’. Colm hoped to sit the Junior Cert Latin exam in 2010. Colm was also a member of the Classical Society in the School of Classics, UCD. The auditor described him as a ‘long-standing and enthusiastic member, a massive supporter of the Classical Society’ and noted for ‘arriving fifteen minutes before the start of a talk’. But there was more, much more, to Colm than his enthusiasm, his learning and his huge interest in the Classics. Colm was a quiet, patient man, caring and courteous. Someone remarked to me that you could not imagine Colm ever been rude or arrogant. When Colm did not arrive at the bus stop on time to begin his journey to Knock on Sunday 27th September, the morning of his death, there was an immediate realisation that something was wrong. Colm would have contacted someone if he could not travel. The Gospel reading chosen for Colm’s funeral mass in Blackrock Church was the perennial question raised again by a persistent young man, ‘Who is my neighbour?’, (Luke 10:29-37). The principal celebrant informed the congregation that Colm had returned from England to care for his mother. Colm, he continued, was also an active member of his local parish reading the lesson in Irish every Sunday. I learned afterwards that Colm had cared also for a priest who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and regularly brought him out to Dun Laoghaire. The young man’s question in the Gospel reading was clearly and adequately addressed but that was not the end of the story. The young man was not going to get away lightly. There had to be a practical response from him after he finally answered his own question. He was admonished, Vade et tu fac similiter, ‘Go and do likewise’. It was a fitting tribute to Colm’s life and work.
Tom Swan
Vice Pres., Dublin Branch