By Con Houlihan
TO understand Mick Doyle, to understand his great vitality, you should realise his extraordinary background.Nell Dennehy came from a great Currow family who were at the heart of everything in the parish, in agriculture, in Gaelic football, in rugby and in life in general.

Mick’s father, and namesake, also had a remarkable background. His father, who was also his namesake, came to Castle Island at the turn of the century. He was a farmer son’s from Killarney; he had little money but he had great intelligence and great enterprise. He started a small grocery business in the town and married an O’Sullivan girl from the hills above Castle Island.

There’s an old saying “when you marry a girl from the mountain, you marry the mountain”. And so a great many people from the hills north of the town became customers in Mick Doyle’s grocery. They became more than customers; they became friends, and after Mass on Sunday mornings, they were usually in the kitchen drinking tea.

And thus the young man from Killarney became very much a part of Castle Island. He soon added a bar to his grocery and then a hardware shop.

Mick the second inherited this business and added to it a big hatchery.

The family were very much part of Castle Island. Mick had two sons, Mick the third and Tom.

They both inherited the love of people, and of sport. And for all the good reasons, they were among the most popular young men in the town.

I taught Mick in my own house the year before he did his leaving in Newbridge College in Kildare. I taught him Mathematics, Latin and English. He was a very bright pupil and became almost part of our family.

When he finished college in Newbridge, he joined Castle Island rugby club.

I was his first captain and we played many a hard game together before he went on to higher things and was capped 21 times for his country. He achieved his greatest fame in 1986 when he coached Ireland to win the triple crown after a long interval.

Those facts tell little about the depths of Mick’s character. He qualified as a veterinary surgeon; he was a great worker; he took life very seriously but overall was his great sense of humour and fun.

During his time with the Ireland team in the Triple Crown year, it seemed to some people that he was only playing for fun but no team was ever more thoroughly organised.

That was Mick; on the surface he lived for fun and enjoyment but underneath he was a deep and intelligent person.

All of us who knew him well have lost a dear and caring friend and most of all, he will be missed in our beloved Castle Island. A lot of laughter has gone out of our lives.