Jim Nolan
Author: John Candy
Performed by John Candy

Jim Nolan
Author: John Candy
Performed by John Candy

John wrote this eulogy about a great local, and national, character, Jim Nolan of Ballinrush, Myshall, County Carlow.

The roll is called, Big Jim is gone, his voice we’ll hear no more,
But his name is etched forever on the pages of folklore.
For those who knew this gentle giant, he was an easy friend to love
And on Good Friday evening Jim was called to Heaven above.

As day broke over Myshall the sad news quickly spread
That Jim Nolan he had passed away and a thousand tears were shed.
The supreme storyteller, he was known both far and wide
And Carlow lost a legend the day Jim Nolan died.

Jim was born in October Nineteen Twenty Two,
The year Ireland gained its freedom, with Michael collins and his cfrew.
Now Jim grew up in Myshall and as he reached a certain age
His talents they were plain to see and he was lured on to the stage.

As an actor he was brilliant and his stories they did flow,
He even featured on RTE with Gay Byrne on the Late Late Show.
Jim lived and farmed in Ballinrush the place where he grew up,
There he wrote about the young man who was ‘The real sure sign of a Pup’!

He told us about Binty McGuire, who was tied down when he was dead,
When someone cut the rope at his wake and binty shot up in the bed.
Ah yes, his stories they were magic, they were better than vintage wine
To hear Jim and his sister Bridie declare that they would ‘sign on the dotted line’.

Now, Jim Nolan was a gentleman, we will all agree on that,
With his big broad smile, his walking cane, his pipe and his auld hat.
He could brighten up any story house whether in sunshine or in rain
And, believe me, we will never see the likes of Jim again.

So, Big Jim, we will remember you, as the years go rolling by
For the pleasure that you gave us Jim, your name will never die.
And as we gaze on your beloved Mt. Leinster with its heather, gorse and bush
May you rest in peace forever, Big Jim from Ballinrush.