The old saying, “if you want something done ask a busy person”, springs to mind when trying to reflect on the life and times of Griffinstown native, Tom Healy.
Many warm tributes were paid by leaders in the political, financial and business world, as well as friends and neighbours of Tom Healy, Dalkey, Co Dublin, and formerly of Griffinstown, Kinnegad, whose untimely passing occurred on Friday, 14 April.
Born in 1950 into a local farming family, Tom was son of the highly esteemed Mary and Harry Healy, Griffinstown, Kinnegad, and received his early education at Kinnegad National School, where his academic potential was first noted.
He continued his education at St Finian’s College in Mullingar and from there he entered Trinity College, Dublin, on scholarship, where he achieved excellence in all exams and qualified in Economics.
Following his graduation from TCD, Tom set out on the first step of his career with the IDA, where he spent five very successful years and where he built up a great deal of valued connections in the field of industry. The genial Tom had a natural skill at networking and used this skill to great effect throughout his career.
It was during his time as Communications Manager with the Irish Trade Board that the Griffinstown native’s name became widely known and highly respected in the field of business, both nationally and internationally.
Recognised as a man on a mission, Tom Healy was a young man with drive, energy and ambition. In business Tom never saw a problem – he saw challenges and it was this that drove him forward, that gave him the enthusiasm for and commitment to the job in hand.
It was with a sense of great pride and joy that his friends, former school- mates and neighbours from the Kinnegad area learned of his appointment to the prestigious position of Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Stock Exchange in 1987. The affable Tom had deservedly reached the top of the pile, and he was at the pinnacle of his distinguished career.
Breath of fresh air
His appointment as CEO of the Stock Exchange in Anglesea Street was, without doubt, a major challenge. At that time the Stock Exchange was very much in decline and its very future in doubt.
Tom was a breath of fresh air to the historic Exchange. Brushing away all the cobwebs of dormancy and inactivity, he set about revitalising the institution and bringing it, kicking and screaming, into the modern era of high finance.
He transformed it from being inward looking, focused on domestic shares and Government Bonds, into an outward looking institution, taking on the wider world, and this he successfully completed almost single-handedly.
Under his stewardship, the master of networking used all his skills, and within a short period of time, a legion of top Irish companies joined the Irish Stock Exchange, many of them becoming top premier league players on the world stage.
From his arrival in 1987 until his resignation in 2007, Tom had brought the Exchange from a sleepy almost extinct position to a very vibrant and healthy operation, recording ann-ual operating profits of more than €10m.
In 2006, and with a hugely enhanced reputation in the field of international finance, Tom was headhunted by Abu Dhabi to take charge of its recently established Securities Exchange.
This was another of those challenges that he couldn’t resist. He once again proved equal to the task, and through his huge volume of valued contacts he was almost immediately attracting some of the world’s top brass financial dealers.
Tom gave the Abu Dhabi project three years’ concentration, and at the age of sixty announced his retirement from an illustrious career in the volatile world of finance and business.
During his challenging and time consuming career, Mr Healy was also a consultant to the World Bank, the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development and was also involved, for a time, with the World Federation of Exchanges and the Federation of European Securities Exchanges.
Quiet and unassuming
Despite the dizzy heights he reached and his major achievements, Tom Healy never lost the common man touch.
The quiet and unassuming man was very much at home socialising with neighbours and friends. He was great company and possessed a razor-sharp wit. His fun-loving humour was quite droll and always in good taste.
Tom was a talented handballer and had an interest in most sports. He took great delight in the successes of the Coralstown/ Kinnegad GAA Club and the Westmeath underage and senior footballers’ achievements.
In his younger years, he had a passion for cars and one of his proud possessions, at the time, was his MG sports car with the soft roof. He got great satisfaction from the vroom of the engine!
Tom was very much a family man, devoting so much of his time to their wellbeing. With his beloved wife and best friend, Marie, he reared a wonderful family, instilling in them wonderful family values and community consciousness. This was a loving unit of equals, where every member of the family was encouraged to advance their own individuality and discover new horizons on life’s journey.
He was at his very best in their company and the extra company of his adored grandson Oran was something very special and so lovingly cherished. Tom always acknowledged the love, support and understanding he received from Marie in their family life and her assistance in seeing him realise his life’s potential.
Even though in indifferent health in recent years, Tom continued to live life to the full, grasping every moment and making the most of it. This was one giant of a man in every respect and the word defeat was not in his vocabulary.
On Friday, 14 April, this high achiever and humble man, in the embrace of his loving family, slipped quietly and peacefully from this life, confident in the new life opening up before him.
Large numbers from all walks of life and from all parts of the country and abroad attended the reposing, and the Church of the Assumption, Dalkey, was packed to overflowing for the celebration of his beautiful funeral Mass, the family participation, the readings, the prayers, the music, the Gospel and the very Eucharist reflecting so positively on his meaningful and truly fulfilled life.
Tom’s ever loving wife and best friend Marie, daughters Aoife, Aisling, Fiona, son Sean, grandson Oran, sons-in-law Pete and Hanat, brother Larry, sister-in-law Bernie, extended family and wide circle of friends are assured of our thoughts and prayers during this sad and trying time.
Ní bheidh a leithéad anseo arís. Solas na bhFlaitheas ar anam Tomás uasal.
