Gerry Corr(1933-2015)
Patrick Gerard Corr was born in Seatown Place, Dundalk on the 10th March 1933 and went on to be educated at The Christian Brothers School, Dundalk.
After a brief spell as a Civil Servant in Dublin, he secured a position in the E.S.B, where he was to work until his retirement in January, 1996.
A prolific sportsman in his youth, Gerry was adept at most sports, particularly, Football, Tennis, Swimming and Table Tennis.
Despite being hospitalized with T. B. for the best part of a year in his early twenties, he still continued to pursue his favorite sports, although his professional ambitions were severely hampered due to reduced lung capacity from the effects of the T.B.
He played for many years with Norton Villa in the Dundalk Summer League and enjoyed success with them on many occasions.
Never a man to shirk a challenge, he took a profound interest in the plight of the Travelling Community in the 1960s and, with the assistance of others, he was instrumental in securing a housing site on the picturesque Fair Green to meet the needs of a hard-pressed community.
In 1962, Gerry Corr met a young beauty from Lifford, Co Donegal, called Jean Bell at a dance in the Pavilion ballroom in Blackrock, Dundalk. He immortalized the meeting in verse, which he entitled 'Pavilion 62':
'Did angels convene/
To bring me to Jean/
Of wraparound eyes/
In passion of pink/
First dance/
Last dance/
We dance for ever.'
He said in an interview in 2002: "From the first time I met her, I loved her speaking voice. Later, when I heard her sing, my future was sealed! Happily, she liked me too." She sang "... an Irish song called Mo Shean Dun na Gall which she had learned at school in her native Donegal. Jean's is the voice of the Corrs".
Jean and Gerry were married on married on October 3, 1963 in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dundalk. They had 5 children: Jim Corr, Gerard Corr, Sharon Corr, Caroline Corr and Andrea Corr. Little Gerard died as a child due to a traffic accident.
Music was always to the fore throughout Gerry's life. He, together with his dear wife Jean Corr founded 'The Sound Affair' in the 1970's and they were to play together in a variety of venues throughout Co Louth for many years.
In his retirement he played the organ in the Church of the Holy Redeemer every Sunday. Not surprisingly, this love of music filtered down to their children with the inevitable consequence - The Corrs.
Sadly, Jean died in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on 24 November 1999 from a rare lung condition.
Gerry died on 9th April, 2015. He is survived by his son Jim, daughters Sharon, Caroline and Andrea.
After a brief spell as a Civil Servant in Dublin, he secured a position in the E.S.B, where he was to work until his retirement in January, 1996.
A prolific sportsman in his youth, Gerry was adept at most sports, particularly, Football, Tennis, Swimming and Table Tennis.
Despite being hospitalized with T. B. for the best part of a year in his early twenties, he still continued to pursue his favorite sports, although his professional ambitions were severely hampered due to reduced lung capacity from the effects of the T.B.
He played for many years with Norton Villa in the Dundalk Summer League and enjoyed success with them on many occasions.
Never a man to shirk a challenge, he took a profound interest in the plight of the Travelling Community in the 1960s and, with the assistance of others, he was instrumental in securing a housing site on the picturesque Fair Green to meet the needs of a hard-pressed community.
In 1962, Gerry Corr met a young beauty from Lifford, Co Donegal, called Jean Bell at a dance in the Pavilion ballroom in Blackrock, Dundalk. He immortalized the meeting in verse, which he entitled 'Pavilion 62':
'Did angels convene/
To bring me to Jean/
Of wraparound eyes/
In passion of pink/
First dance/
Last dance/
We dance for ever.'
He said in an interview in 2002: "From the first time I met her, I loved her speaking voice. Later, when I heard her sing, my future was sealed! Happily, she liked me too." She sang "... an Irish song called Mo Shean Dun na Gall which she had learned at school in her native Donegal. Jean's is the voice of the Corrs".
Jean and Gerry were married on married on October 3, 1963 in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dundalk. They had 5 children: Jim Corr, Gerard Corr, Sharon Corr, Caroline Corr and Andrea Corr. Little Gerard died as a child due to a traffic accident.
Music was always to the fore throughout Gerry's life. He, together with his dear wife Jean Corr founded 'The Sound Affair' in the 1970's and they were to play together in a variety of venues throughout Co Louth for many years.
In his retirement he played the organ in the Church of the Holy Redeemer every Sunday. Not surprisingly, this love of music filtered down to their children with the inevitable consequence - The Corrs.
Sadly, Jean died in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on 24 November 1999 from a rare lung condition.
Gerry died on 9th April, 2015. He is survived by his son Jim, daughters Sharon, Caroline and Andrea.
