Our uncle Johnny Moriarty lived in the cottage for many years with our grandmother. Johnny was diminutive in size but had a big heart and lived his life as a bachelor. He worked as a gardener and spent many years developing and sculpting beautiful gardens including his own.
A man of few possessions by choice, he led a simple life, cycling to work every day and looking forward to a few pints on the weekend and a bet on the horses. Now when the nags were doing well he’d add a few whiskeys into the mix. Come to think of it, he also did this even when the horses he bet on weren’t performing!
Cheltenham was the highlight of the year and he had a straightforward enough system; back Aiden O’Brien’s horses and you occasionally came out the better from it. The result of the bet would be evident as he couldn’t hide his smile when things went well. Johnny would have cleaned up in Vegas because when it came to a game of cards he could read any opponent like a book – he rarely lost a game of poker or thirty-one.
It really was life’s simple pleasures that interested Johnny, whether that was his roses or lilies coming into bloom, or getting a great start to the day with a boiled egg and brown bread washed down with a strong mug of tea.
Johnny loved animals, he had a collie dog named Towser; he also called everyone else’s dog Towser. The dog would get a raw egg mixed with brown bread and tea every morning. There was some shine off the dog’s coat from the prescribed diet which was normally a share of whatever Johnny was having himself.
Johnny’s cottage had two rooms with a large traditional open fire in the sitting room come kitchen. The floors were concrete and the entrance was through an old-style half-door which was always open to visitors. Outside the cottage, his garden had an array of beautiful shrubs and some of his favourite flowers, dominated by yellow and purple blooms.
Johnny was a character and we have some wonderful memories of him – including a few ones. On the occasion of a family wedding, Johnny arrived suited and booted and needed to use the elevator to get to the reception. It was his first time using a lift and unsure of its workings, he ended up spending more time going up and down in the lift like a yo-yo than at the reception. He remained a ground-floor man after that experience.
Another time, he fell off his bike whilst cycling home, and when asked what happened Johnny exclaimed: “Who put that bloody ditch there?” He may or may not have had a few triumphant whiskeys that day!
When Johnny retired at the age of 66, he continued to garden and help out family and neighbours. In his latter days, he broke his hip which immobilised him for a while; he stayed with Breeda and family in Farmer’s Bridge. He also spent some time with our brother Dannie and was a much-loved member of the family.
Breeda purchased Johnny’s little cottage from him, renovated it and now lives there with her husband Sean. Johnny sadly passed in 2007 at the age of eighty-six. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of him or mention his name. May he rest in peace with all his loved ones in heaven. Johnny’s presence is felt every day, especially out in his garden at Johnny’s Cottage.
