As Principal of CBS Dungarvan, I wish to extend my deepest sympathies and the sympathies of the staff, the Board of Management, the students and the whole school community to Tony Lake’s family on his greatly lamented recent death. The following words of commemoration and celebration of Tony’s wonderful life and career were delivered, in a slightly abbreviated form by our school’s former Principal, Mr. Jim Ryan, at Tony’s funeral Mass in St. Mary’s Parish Church, Dungarvan, on Saturday Oct 3rd, 2009.

400 years ago, the poet wrote:- "Only the actions of the just smell sweet and blossom in their dust.” (James Shirley) Today we take the mortal remains of Tony Lake to the adjoining cemetery, fittingly enough, beside the CBS School where he practised his own brand of educational inspiration for nineteen years. In the necessarily short time at my disposal, I will talk of the Tony I’ve known since 1990 - of a man, family man, teacher, and treasured friend almost beyond compare. A vacancy for a teacher of English occurred in the school and, thanks be to God, Tony and Margaret came into my life.They called to the school with Tony’s CV - Margaret tells me I was the first person they spoke to in Dungarvan. I immediately contacted Carrick-on-Suir CBS and spoke to the then Vice – Principal, Liam Hogan. His first words were “Grab him” and he added, “You won’t meet a nicer guy and he’s a superb teacher”.

So Tony became a teacher in our school and his joining our staff was one of the greatest things to happen to the school in all my years there going back to 1962. And only two days ago this is what the same Liam Hogan had to say: “Of all the teachers I came across in forty two years of teaching, Tony was the most impressive.” Some praise, coming from Liam, a man not given to hyperbole! In “A Man for all Seasons” Sir Thomas Moore advises Richard Rich: “You should consider being a teacher. You’d be a fine teacher, maybe a great teacher”. Richard Rich: “And if I was who would know it?” Sir Thomas Moore: “You, your pupils, your friends and God. Not a bad public is it.”

Well, Tony was that great teacher and he had the recognition of that public. Bright or not so bright academically, Tony got the very best from his students. They were the privileged ones and they knew it. The grades attained by so many of his students were sensational – of even greater importance was the wonderful influence for good he had on them as people. They were all better people for having known him. President Truman once said:” Talk softly but carry a big stick”. Tony talked softly but he never carried any kind of stick, big or small; he didn’t need to. Because he had a wonderful way with students – they worked for him and they worked with him. Why was this? Because as well as witnessing his dedication to his work, his diligence and his love of teaching, they sensed his basic decency and sheer goodness as a person: a good man and a caring teacher who had a wonderful understanding of and tolerance of human weaknesses and foibles.

It’s not the slightest exaggeration to say that Tony adorned the teaching profession. But knowing that he was celebrated far and wide as a teacher changed him not a whit - because he had a Godgiven humility. He was also a very private person who went placidly amid the noise and the haste. For a school Principal he was the dream member of staff as parents and students sang his praises. He rarely ever missed a day -indeed Ann Prendergast and John Murphy tell me that in his years of illness he only missed classes when it was utterly unavoidable. He was a joy to meet, a joy to work with. He was a loyal and principled colleague, supportive to a fault, but not blindly so, because his great integrity wouldn’t allow that. He told you what he thought on any particular issue, but quietly and behind the scenes. As a person he radiated a quiet serenity and contentment. He had a great stock of hidden inner resources which underpinned that outward equanimity. If anybody ever carried God’s grace with him, it was Tony. He was, in Sean O Casey’s words, “A darling man”. His father, Pat, last evening thanked me for what I had done for Tony. But no, it’s what Tony did for me. The loyal support and help I got from Tony and Margaret on a personal level outside of school was one of the great blessings of my life – and thanks Margaret, you never, ever forgot to send the Christmas card. Tony’s friendship was as perennial as the hills; as solid as a rock. To visit Tony in his last illness was to be struck by his christian faith and courage. “It’s all in God’s hands”, he told me a number of times. He was welcoming, gracious and strong at a time when the hand of God had touched him with great suffering; he must have endured many a Gethsemane hour in the last four years. He taught us all how to face adversity with courage. The dancer, Isadora Duncan, once said :- “ The pity is they never send the flowers till you’re dead”, and, thus, I thank God that I was able to tell him what a wonderful person he was and the great contribution he had made in so many spheres.

At this point, Tony, if he could, would wittily and humourously make fun of my seriousness and solemnity- he could cope with seriousness but scorn solemnity, for above all he was great company and had a marvellous sense of humour and fun. “Desist Jim” he would say, “You’ve waffled far too much already about me. In any case, I fear you’ve overstated the case a tad on my behalf. You have ransacked the lexicon for words of exaggerated praise” (yes, he had a beautiful command of the English language), and I would love to answer: “You’re wrong Tony. If anything I’ve understated the case”. And so, although I’ve only scratched the surface in relation to Tony’s greatness I must draw to a close.

You left us betimes, to our great grief; to become with your beloved mother one of those that James Joyce called “The Mighty Dead”. My prayer is that Margaret, Chloe, Gillian and Stephen, his dad Pat, and his sisters Rosemary, Gillian and Patricia, will in time to come take pride in and rejoice at Tony’s well-lived life- a life where family, friendship and teaching were cornerstones. And now that he has left us we can only be comforted by having known him if even for too short a while. As Shakespeare wrote of his great tragic hero, Coriolanus, it can assuredly be said of Tony: - “He shall have a noble memory”. Thanks again for everything Tony. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it was that made you so special; I only know that you were. Something about you made you one of the select. You were a rare and gentle soul; you were one in a million. You were a star. Rest peacefully in the arms of our Lord, and his Blessed Mother.

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime

And departing leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time.