MULLINGAR lost one of its finest contributors to the arts on Wednesday of last week, 30 July, when Christopher (Christy) Neary, Tower View, and formerly Mary Street, passed away peacefully in the tender and loving care of doctors and nurses at Tullamore General Hospital. He was just 75 years of age, and had been in failing health in the past year or so.
He contributed a major portion of his life to the world of theatre and the stage, and was a skilled carpenter and producer of sets and scenery. He also took part in many stage productions in the town, and until his illness in the past few years, was a key figure behind the scenes in the major Arts Centre productions.
Christy, for four and a half decades a primary school teacher at St. Mary’s CBS, beginning before his twentieth birthday, was a very creative man, with a passion and love for the arts. He was at the heart of the musical and theatre scene in Mullingar for 50 years, from the days of the Irish language productions to the high-powered presentations of recent years in Mullingar Arts Centre. His backstage work was legendary, and his main stamping ground was the old County Hall stage and later the Arts Centre. Christy’s woodworking skills fitted in perfectly as he learned his stage trade from all the old fit up artists that came to Mullingar back in the 60s. He was a great performer and he loved the excitement of old style musical shows.
Christy seemed to know everything about the “front of house” and what it took to put on a great show. His great passion was stage design and he had the ability to transform any stage into something wonderful with just a paint brush and a few tins of paint. Christy designed some of the most elaborate and impressive sets for shows in Mullingar down through the years including the Pirates of Penzance and Oliver! He also worked closely with Séan Lynch on shows performed at Mullingar Arts Centre up until recent years.
In the 1970s, Christy was heavily involved with the Mullingar Revue and together with Christy and Padraic O’Farrell, came up with some of the most memorable of the Mullingar Revue sketches. With such a love for all things drama and theatre related, Christy was always more than happy to give up his free time to help out all comers with shows taking place locally.
Christy also gave his time to the FCA and was an officer with the 15 BTY and 9 Field Artillery Regiment. To mark his years of service to the FCA, his coffin was draped in the tri-colour and he was given a guard of honour by members of the Reserve Defence Forces outside the Cathedral of Christ the King on Thursday evening last, 31 July. Christy is sadly missed by his devoted wife Ber, cousins, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, relatives and friends.
The removal took place from Shaw’s Funeral Home on Thursday evening of last week, 31 July, to the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar. Funeral Mass was said on Friday morning last, 1 August, followed by burial in Ballyglass Cemetery. May he rest in peace.
