Michael Carlin

As I look back on my life, or on that part of it that I have lived up to now, I believe that I have been blessed.

I have been blessed with good health and we all know that ‘your health is your wealth’.  I have one or two small irritations associated with growing older, but I am taking those in my stride.  When I take out my ’11-plus’ school photograph and see how many of my old friends are dead, I thank God that I am able to put my foot on the floor every morning.  I pray that I will be granted many more years of good health to enjoy my retirement and remain active both mentally and physically.

I have been blessed with Joan, a wonderful wife and mother. In August 2010, we celebrated our 40^th wedding anniversary and our girls sent us off on a memorable holiday to Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo.  Joan has always been a tremendous support to me, particularly during our time in Carlin Records.  We made a great team and Joan played a major role in ensuring that the business was so successful.  These were the happiest years of our marriage, as we raised our family and built up our business.  I couldn’t have asked for a more loving companion  and Dara, Aoife and Fiona were (and still are) blessed to have Joan as their mother and grandmother to Bevin and Sadhbh.

Aoife lives away from home now but it would be true to say that Dara and Fiona (because of their illnesses) could not function without the unselfish support they receive from Joan.

I have been blessed with three of the most beautiful and loving daughters that any man could ever want for.  I am often asked “wouldn’t you have loved a boy?” and my reply is always “I wouldn’t swap one of them for 10 boys!!”  My relationship with each of them is completely different, but it is similar in one respect – the great feeling of closeness that I feel towards each one of them and the that I experience in having that feeling of closeness reflected back to me.

All my life I have been involved with various organisations covering cultural, charitable and business.

On the business side, I spent almost 20 years with Newry Chamber of Trade holding the posts of PRO and President.  Imagine trying to sell Newry as a shopping destination at the height of the troubles!  I built up a wide network of contacts in the BBC, RTE and all the top newspapers, north and south.  I was a real rollercoaster ride, very bumpy at times but a valuable learning experience.

I am what we call in Newry a Cathedral Catholic – I just love the Cathedral.  I joined the Junior Choir at 11 and was a member for almost 50 years.  It instilled in me a deep love for church music and I will always be grateful to Mr. Torrenson and Fr. Moore for the opportunity they gave me.

As a result of the positive experience I had on my Pre-Marriage course, I was drawn to the work of the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council.  I applied to become a Counsellor and, after a selection process and extensive training, I joined the Newry Centre (the first to be established in Northern Ireland).  I worked therefore 19 years both as a remedial counsellor and running the pre-marriage courses.  At 28, I was the youngest counsellor serving in Ireland at that time.  I don’t know how many thousands of couples passed through the centre during my time, but I knew the game was up when one girl told me “my many says you did her pre-marriage course!”

My aunt, Sr. Hyacinth, is a Poor Clare Nun and we have always enjoyed a good relationship with all the religious congregations in Newry.  The St. John of God sisters were very kind to my father when he suffered from varicose ulcers.  For years, they changed his dressings on a daily basis and point blank refused to accept any payment.  When I was invited to join the Newry Hospice Fund Raising Committee, I saw it as an opportunity to give something back to the Sisters and I served on that Committee for 20 years.  It was both a pleasure and a privilege.

There is a almost a similar story surrounding my involvement with the Sacred Heart Grammar School Board of Governors.  All three of our girls attended St. Clare’s Primary School and then Sacred heart where they received an outstanding education which, in every way, prepared them for life.  I was invited to join the Board in 1989 and, little did I know that I would serve for 20 years, including two terms as Chairperson.  The first lay person to hold that post.  Again, it was a learning experience and I have been able to transfer the skills I learned across to other areas of my life.

I have now stood down from all these organisations.  On the retirement of legendary BBC Tennis commenter, Dan Maskell said “when you have put everything you have into something and taken all you can from it – then it is time to go”.  I couldn’t have put it any better.