The passing took place last night of Fr Ned Stankard, parish priest and president of Cappataggle Hurling Club for over 25 years.
Cappataggle Hurling Club have released this tribute to a great Hurling man and a man who was much loved a respected by the people of the community.
"It was with great sadness last night that we learned of the passing of Fr Ned Stankard. Fr Ned was the president of Cappataggle Hurling Club for over 25 years. He was a loyal supporter and we were honoured to have him lead the club.
The people of Cappataggle are justifiably proud of the close-knit community spirit that exists in the Parish. Such spirit is pretty rare nowadays and Fr Ned was integral to that in Cappataggle. He was the spiritual leader and cornerstone of the community.
Fr Ned was more than just a parish priest (More recently he carried the titles of Vicar-General and Monsignor, a title he was never fully comfortable with, which shows the humility of the man).
He was always supportive and encouraging of any endeavour proposed by the club, most notably in 2008 when we approached him with an ambitious proposal to develop a new astro turn pitch and training facilities in the parish. The project was considered highly unlikely to succeed given the lack of funding or land but Fr. Ned facilitated the transfer of land next to the school and in return the tradesmen and women of the parish donated their time and talent to build a new modern parochial house next to the church. People were willing to give their time to support a man who they regarded so highly. The Cappataggle astro turf and training facilities now stand as a testament to his vision and are a facility used by young people from all over Galway.
Many people have commented this week on Fr Ned’s sincerity, integrity and authenticity. Fr Ned had the extraordinary talent of making everybody feel special and welcome, he knew everybody in the parish by their first name and when he was speaking with you he always ensured you had his full attention. He was always interested to hear your story and was a very knowledgeable man who took great interest in hearing how former parishioners were faring who now lived all over the world.
Fr Ned was as highly regarded by the young as he was the old. He knew all the names of the youngsters in the local national school and was respected by the hundreds of altar boys and girls who served mass with him. Easter Sunday mass was always the best attended of the year as each one would leave with a large chocolate egg under their arm after mass!
He was non-judgemental and his door was always open for anyone who had any worries or issues they wanted to discuss. He has the extraordinary knack of knowing exactly the right thing to say to put people’s minds at ease and he took exactly the right tone whether he was hosting a christening, wedding or burial. His sermons were always well researched and re-assuring and people travelled from far and wide to attend his mass.
No-one will ever be able to fill the shoes of Father Ned Stankard. His passing leaves a huge void in the parish and he will be sorely missed by all in Cappy and those further afield. We remember him fondly and count ourselves lucky for the 25 years he graced our parish. Every one of our lives was better for having him in it. May he rest in peace."
