London-born Pat had a deep connection with his Irish roots
Pat McNicholas had a positive influence on the many people he encountered during his long and productive life.
On Friday, May 15th, family, friends, and former colleagues gathered at St Anthony of Padua Church in Edgware in London to say a final goodbye to Pat McNicholas, a beloved teacher, musician, family man, and proud Irish Londoner who lived a remarkably full life spanning ninety years.
Born in Cricklewood in 1935, Pat was the son of parents who had made the journey from Ireland - his father from Kiltimagh, Co Mayo, and his mother from Kilcommon, Co Tipperary. That dual heritage shaped him deeply. During the Blitz, he spent part of his childhood living with his maternal grandmother in Tipperary, and it was there that his lifelong love affair with Irish culture, music, and community began. He carried that love with him everywhere he went.
A talented accordion player from a young age, Pat was a familiar and popular figure on the social scene. It was at the famous Galtymore Dance Hall - the heart of Irish life in London - where he met the love of his life, Eileen McCarthy, whose family hailed from Liscannor, County Clare. They married in 1962 and together built a home rooted in faith, music, humour, and love. They raised seven children, and the family circle grew to include 19 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren - a wonderful legacy of which he was immensely proud.
To generations of children in Edgware and Burnt Oak, he was simply 'Mr Mac'. A dedicated teacher at the Annunciation and St Martin’s Schools until his retirement in 1994, he was a role model, a mentor, and a much loved figure. He didn’t just teach lessons from books, he taught values, encouraged talent, and even coached school football teams, leaving a lasting impression on thousands of young lives.
The loss of his beloved Eileen in 2002 was a heavy blow, but Pat, being a man of great resilience, found solace and renewed purpose in his great passion: golf. He was an active and popular member of both the Mayo GAA Social and Golf Society and the Eskimo Golf Society, and in the year 2000, he had the honour of being elected Captain of Mill Hill Golf Club, a role he fulfilled with great style and friendship.
In 2004, he met the lovely Josie Browne, and a wonderful companionship began. Together they enjoyed golfing holidays, travelled far and wide, and spent countless happy days visiting their children and grandchildren. In his later years, Pat moved to Castlebridge in Co Wexford where he lived in happy contentment, surrounded by family and the peace of the home country he loved so well and writing his memoir .
Pat had a rare and remarkable gift for connection. Whether through music, teaching, sport, or simple everyday conversation, he touched countless lives with his warmth, his wit, and his kindness.
His funeral Mass was celebrated by his great friend Fr Dermot O’Neill, and was a true celebration of a life well lived. The church was filled with music, hymns, and songs chosen with great care - uplifting, moving, and exactly right for a man who walked through life with music in his soul. It felt less like a sad goodbye and more like a gathering of the clan, united in gratitude.
Afterwards, the reception at Mill Hill Golf Clubhouse was magnificent - a wonderful afternoon of hot food, music, and memories, with photographs and films showing Pat through the decades. There were tears, of course, but far more laughter and stories shared in that unique way that Irish people do: honouring our dead, supporting one another, and celebrating a life that mattered.
Pat McNicholas was a man who never forgot where he came from, and in every sense, he was 'never far from home'. Now, he is home forever.
Rest in peace, Mr Mac.
