James ‘Chassie’ Cronin, Duagh Village and formerly of Desmonds Avenue Castleisland, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving and much loved family in the exceptional care of the staff at UHK Tralee on Friday, March 11-2022 after a short illness.
There aren’t too many people blessed with the gift that the very mention of their names brings a smile or even a burst of laughter as a reaction.
To those who knew Chassie he was a kind, jolly, lovable rogue who was always in good form.
He would always put a smile on your face when you were in his company and you always found yourself in better spirits upon meeting him.
Stories and Tall Tales
Chassie loved meeting people, talking to them, telling them stories and there were some very tall tales.
Everyone who met Chassie will have their own stories of times he told them a tale that had just enough truth in it, to make them believe it, he never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
He was the master of the hop ball but always good natured and full of fun.
He has left a ledger of stories from his early years right up almost to the moment of his passing.
He played football with his beloved Castleisland Desmonds and was a member of the Castleisland District Minor Co. Championship winning teams in the early1960s.
A Proud Castleisland Man
A proud Castleisland man, he immersed himself in village life in Duagh. He was involved in numerous community activities from helping establish the Duagh graveyard committee which transformed the graveyard in the 2000s to running in the 1985 Dublin City Marathon to raise funds for the Duagh Development Association.
He also played football for his adoptive parish to coaching Duagh GAA Club teams. His football teams were known as ‘Chassie’s Army’ and they saw at first hand his passion and obsession for football and how he passed that on to his teams and players.
He refereed in the county and North Kerry championships and leagues and proved himself one of the best and fairest – and as such he was liked and respected by everybody he came into contact with.
Resident Referee
With the formation of Cumann Na mBunscol in the 90s Chassie became the resident referee for the Primary Schools games.
He had a special rapport with young people by always explaining his decisions.
He especially enjoyed being referee for the primary schools game in Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney on Munster Final day.
Chassie got involved in ladies football in Duagh and, true to form, his ability to gather a crowd around him resulted in over 40 ladies playing football in the parish. They were his second army.
“He gave us great days out, plenty of laughs, stories, fun and new friendships along with winning trophies we never dreamed of winning,” said one of his team members.
Important Roles in Life
Chassie’s most important roles in life were that of husband and father. His children were the apple of his eye. He loved talking to them and talking about them to people.
He would do anything for them, from taking them to the swimming club before school to training any football team they were on.
He and Agnes were always there. Chassie adored his grandchildren he loved spending time with them, watching them grow. Agnes and himself would regularly sit into the car and drive for two hours just to spend time with them.
He was one of the best known personalities in the county and he kept himself very active with his involvement in swimming, running, racquetball etc.
A mark of how much Chassie was regarded by all was the numbers that attended his funeral, the two guards of honour in Castleisland and Duagh, and all his family, neighbours and friends from Kerry and beyond who came to say farewell. It was greatly appreciated by his loved ones.
Níl sé imithe uainn ach imithe romhainn.
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