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Patrick A Trainor

14th December 1940 - 10th April 2005

Patrick Trainor was born in North Belfast in December 1940 to Lottie and Eneas Trainor. He was the eldest of seven children, three boys and four girls. Pat or Paddy attended St. Marys Barrack Street and later St. Joseph's Teacher Training College, creating the foundation stones for over 35 years in education. He taught in Holy Child Primary School for his entire teaching career, his contribution to the lives of countless individuals in West Belfast cannot be underestimated and I am confident they all remember him fondly even if it is with a healthy combination of fear and respect.

Pat met Ann Mc Manus, a friend of the family, in the 50's and as they both hailed from Ardoyne they married in the Holy Cross Church on the Crumlin Road in 1965. They would have been married 40 years on 20th April 2005, a true testament to their love and devotion to each other. With six children of their own, three boys and three girls, and at the time of writing nine grandchildren - the clan is growing strong. As a young father his mantra would have been education, education education!

It was clear early on that Pat wasn't content with just teaching. Afterall there were boards to be sat on, committees to which to contribute and decisions to be made. In the early sixties he was instrumental in creating an Irish Language Society that aimed to promote the Irish langauge in West Belfast. Around the same time he was a founding member of the hugely successful and still expanding Belfast Teachers Credit Union sitting on its board right up until 2005, where he was President for much of this time.

In his earlier days and certainly prior to a nasty broken ankle Pat played a reasonable level of hurling and football for Pearses and then subsequently Eire Og culminating in an Antrim Junior Hurling Championship trophy in 1967. With active participation on the pitch curtailed, Pat diversified into scuba diving where he qualified as a club diver, his love of the outdoors didn't stop there as he was a regular participant in the annual Mourne Wall Walk. He found other ways of getting into the Kingdom of Mourne too as he assisted with the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme through his weekly youth work.

Pat’s true love though was Gaelic Games. Throughout this time Pat was actively promoting Gaelic games in Holy Child. Very soon he became officially involved with Cumann na mBunscol for the Belfast area, this quickly expanded to cover the rest of the county. At one time there were 10 primary schools playing Gaelic games in Co. Antrim now there are nearly 100. It is no coincidence that Antrim Minors were only narrowly beaten in this years Hurling Semi-Final by Limerick, Pat would have believed that success begins at grass roots - Cork beware! Officiating at county level wasn't enough for Pat and he soon became involved at National level where he ultimately took on the responsibility of Treasurer of the National Committee. This was a role that Pat loved, not content with a half hearted contribution to any of his extra curricular activities he embraced them 100% as if they were a full time vocation - luckily for the last 10 years Pat had been retired.

It was no coincidence that whether it was Belfast Teachers Credit Union, Cumman na mBunscol (National or County level), the Ulster Sub Aqua Club where he was Club Secretary for a number of years or the Antrim (GAA) Disciplinary Committee Pat impressed all with his appetite for accounting and administration. Whether in a boardroom or at his desk he was meticulous and thorough in his undertakings, respected by all and always displayed dynamism and forward thinking that belied his age. Not one to enforce his views on others it was through the respect that he commanded and an open mind that he went about business making a positive contribution to the many committees on which he sat.

Pat spent most of the last three months of his life in hospital. Throughout this period we were all given a lesson in humility and fortitude by two truly selfless, courageous and amazing individuals - Pat and Ann. During this time we were fortunate enough to witness their love and devotion to each other. We thank Mum for all she did for Dad, it meant so much to him and to us. To Dad we all miss you and love you, thanks for being such a great Dad.