Fireman who died in tragic accident remembered as 'selfless and kind' at Funeral Mass

The funeral of a Clare fireman who died last week following a work-related accident heard that he was a "loyal and dedicated husband, father, brother, son and friend" who was known for being "selfless and kind." 

The late Joe Crosse was married to his wife Bríd and a father of two children, Teagan and Odhran. The Ennistymon man lived in his native town, where he worked as a plasterer and retained firefighter. 

The Sub Station Officer sadly died on Thursday morning, July 24 following a workplace incident. 

Mr Crosse was described by many as an active member of the community, where he served as manager in the under9's category of Ennistymon GAA Club. The retained fireman was known widely in his home county for taking part in fundraisers, raising money for charity and for his love of running marathons, particularly for good causes. 

At his funeral today in Clouna Church, Ennistymon, mourners gathered in "brokenness" following the news of his untimely passing. 

A fireman's prayer began the Mass and was recited by two people closest to the man; his good friend and co-worker Billy and his beloved daughter Teagan. 

When the young girl became emotional, Fr Des Forde reminded her that "it's okay to cry" despite it being an emotion "we're kind of shy with." 

Sisters of Joe Crosse, Tricia and Joanne, shared insight into their lives with the family man. 

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Tricia said, "Where do I start? the amount of times I've wrote and rewrote this over the last couple of days, because every day there was a new story that we heard describing Joe. There are so many words, if not too many words, to describe the man that Joe was, and is. To start with, he was a loyal and dedicated husband, father, brother, son and friend. He was also selfless and kind and stubborn. By God, was he stubborn. He was also very heavily involved in the community, which has been evident in the support we've received in the last few days.

"One comment that was made to me on Thursday, the person will know who it is when I say it, to describe Joe was his inability to answer a yes no question, but a simple yes or no. If you were lucky, the spiel you got would be ended in 20 minutes but I guarantee, you still didn't know whether the answer was yes or no. Joe was a family man, and family is very important to him. He lived for his beautiful wife, Bríd and adorable children Teagan and Odhran. Teagan had him wrapped around her little finger. He tried to be strict with her but she knew better and she pushed him to the limits and little Odhran is as much of a chatterbox as what Joe was.

"Joe always found an opportunity to help his charities, friends and even strangers. He thought nothing of it. There was no task too big or too small and he never wanted the limelight that went with it. Every year, a new challenge came and we were told that was the last challenge, but then, unfortunately, the memories would appear on Facebook and we were organizing another one to the point that every January we were waiting in anticipation for what that year was going to hold," she added. 

Continuing was Joanne, Mr Crosse's twin sister, who said, "Those who knew Joe knew had a unique sense of humour and has the ability to make people laugh, even at inappropriate times. Joe never liked to be idle and had his hands in many pots. God forbid he would have to sit still. John and Bríd are both kind-hearted and shared a love of animals, which was lucky, as Joe adopted a donkey from the donkey sanctuary in Cork one Christmas as a present for Bríd.

"It is evident that Joe's traits will always live on his beautiful children, who also have such kindness in their hearts. With the outpouring of love and support received by his family over the last few days from everyone in the community and the county, it is clear how much of an impact Joe had on so many lives.

"We would like to thank all the emergency services, doctors and nurses from the medical centre and those to who attended Joe with such professionalism, especially his fire family," she concluded. 

In attendance was Mayor of Clare, Paul Murphy, CEO of Clare County Council, Gordan Deeley and many family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances. 

Following news of Mr Crosses death, the Health and Safety Authority were notified and are investigating the matter.

The beloved man was laid to rest in the Old Cemetery, Ennistymon.