By the family

Sept. 27, 2023: Flannan J. Meaney, age 92, resident of Bronxville and of Kilrush, Co. Clare, Ireland, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, September 19th. 

Flan is survived by: his wife Catherine (nee Roberts) and his children Mary (Gregory Molloy), Eileen, Susan (Peter Incledon), and Frank (Alice); his grandchildren, Caroline, Megan and Conor Incledon, Margaret and Brendan Molloy, Christopher, Aidan, and Brian Meaney; great-granddaughter Clare Kavanaugh; and by his sister Helena Cunniffe, and brothers William and Jack, as well as dozens of nieces and nephews here and in Ireland.  Flan was predeceased by his son Brian (Maureen Farrell) and by his sister Mary Margaret, and brothers Owen, Francis, Thomas, and Joseph.

Flan was a proud Clare man, an avid Gaelic footballer, and a lover of dogs and hunting. When he came to the United States at age 26, he brought all of this with him. He had hunting dogs in every home he ever lived in (even the tiny New York apartments he started out in), and in hunting season, had a refrigerator full of pheasant and rabbit. He played Irish football for the Clare team in New York and was always captain. Continuing the Irish traditions was very important to him. He met his wife, Catherine, at a dance in Gaelic Park for people from County Clare. They were married for 62 years.

When he arrived in New York in 1957, Flan got a job as a clerk for The Chase Manhattan Bank, where he remained for over 30 years, working his way up to Vice President. Upon his retirement, Flan bought a house back in Kilrush, and for the next 25 years, split his time between New York and Ireland.

Flan had a brilliant mind. Although he had left school at age 17 to begin working for the Irish postal service, he could read and write in 3 languages (English, Irish and Latin), had an immense knowledge of classical literature, and could quote Shakespeare, Tennyson and Yeats at length. 

Flan was a loving grandfather. He would often try to sneak Cadbury chocolates or money into his grandchildren’s hands and pockets – no matter how small those grandchildren were. And as his grandchildren got older, he enjoyed spending time with them in Ireland, taking them along on his walks out to Cappa with his dogs, and always out for ice cream.

Flan enjoyed a good laugh, a good beer, and a good song (“Daisy Bell - Bicycle Built for Two” and “Kevin Barry” were particular favorites). We will remember his love of family, hunting, dogs, and a pint or two as well as for his great wit and sense of humor. He really did have a sparkle in his eye.

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”  Omar Khayyám