Tom O'Dea (Webmaster) 
Patrick never missed a clan gathering since our very first clan gathering in 1990. Patrick was a kind gentleman who was very proud of his O’Dea heritage and roots.
In his youth, Patrick excelled as a national cross country champion. Every year, the Patrick O’Dea open cross country and 5 km road races is held in his native Lissycasey to honour him.
To his family and partner, Dorothy, we send our deepest condolences.
Suaimhneas síoraí dá h-anam uasal.
Paul passed away peacefully on June 1, 2017 at home with his family by his side. He was born May 2, 1935 in Chicopee, MA to James & Jeanette O’Day. He earned a BA in Chemistry w/honors from American International College, a Masters in Public Admin from American Univ and a JD from Georgetown Univ where he received their Constitutional Law Award. He was a visiting fellow at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School & awarded an honorary doctorate in Public Admin from AIC. He was President of the Eisenhower World Institute from ’93-’99 and on the Shakespeare board from 1985-1990. His government service included his appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce & Senior positions in the Office of the US Trade Rep. Up to his passing, he was President & Counsel of the American Fiber Manufacturers Assoc. A job he truly loved, considered the height of his career, and poured himself into, even at 82. Friends called him “a Legend” in the industry. The AFMA Board established a scholarship in 2014 in honor of Paul, who served as their President for 3 decades.
Paul was well-read, maintained a deep curiosity in life and all 19 of his kids and grandkids could expect a thoughtfully selected book every birthday & Christmas. Amazon Books loved him. He has a multitude of “great friends”, as he would say, near and far, whom he cherished and would do anything for. Paul loved traveling, especially with his favorite travel buddy, Nancy, his wife & love of his life for 55 yrs. His favorites were the annual Smith Mt Lake family vacation, Florence Italy, Istanbul, the Neuchatel,Switzerland gatherings and O’Dea Clan reunions in Ireland at Dysert O’Dea castle with a Guinness in hand. One of his favorite pastimes was fishing on the saltwater flats catching bonefish, permit and tarpon with his son. He loved the arts, especially Shakespeare and Jussi Bjorling. He is survived by his wife and his 4 children, Kathleen O’Day, Maureen Nardo, Michael O’Day (Trish) and Ellen Sundra (Derek) and 13 Grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Paul’s name to AIC, ( alumni office) 1000 State St. Springfield, MA 01109. A Celebration of Life will be held on July 14 at 11:30 am at the Springfield Golf and Country Club in Springfield, VA. For more info contact:
Terence John (Terry) O’Dea of Brisbane, Queensland passed away peacefully on 20 October 2016 after a long battle with cancer. He was aged 68 years.
He is survived by his wife Julie and his four daughters: Kathleen, Bridget, Meghann, and Colleen.
A Farewell Mass was held at St William’s Catholic Church, 67 Dawson Parade, Keperra, on Wednesday, 26 October 2016.
On a personal note, Terry was my favourite cousin and I will miss him dearly. (Tom O’Dea, Webmaster).
To David and Sue Poole
David and Sue, On behalf of all the Committee members of the Dysert O’Dea Australian group, please accept our condolences on the sad passing of your father. May you, Sue and all your family find peace and happiness in the fact dad is at peace and is in a better place looking down and protecting you and your family. May dad rest in peace. Know our thoughts are with you both now and always.
Maureen Carey,
Secretary,
Dysert O’Dea Clan Australia
A video of the Fr. Tom O’Dea Funeral Mass is now available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3R8W82Amx4
The wonderful eulogy by his friend Fr Michael O Grady starts around minute 27.47 on the video.
Colleen Smith (O’Day) has provided us with the attached document which contains clippings from her searches of the County Clare Parish Records where references to O’Dea’s, Dea’s and O’Day’s appear. Colleen has offered these to the Clan because they might save someone hundreds of hours of searching: Index of Clippings from County Clare Parish Records
This is a free guide to all the Irish family history records released during 2014.
Just in time for St Patrick’s Day, Irish Genealogy Toolkit has published a 20-page e-booklet providing brief details of all the brand-new or, in some cases, upgraded Irish Genealogy resources released in 2014.
It’s free. Download your own (pdf 4.3Mb) copy: New Irish Genealogy Records Released in 2014
The Clare Library has added over 6,600 links to the library website.
There are over 2,200 townlands in County Clare, and the library has a webpage devoted to each of them.
Details are available here: http://clarelibrary.blogspot.ie/2014/07/over-6600-links-added-to-library.html
A complete list of the O’Dea Clan Chieftains (of the modern era).
