{"id":289002,"date":"2026-01-17T09:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T09:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/289002\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T09:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T09:38:14","slug":"sean-o-ses-son-tells-mourners-he-had-a-god-given-talent-that-he-used-to-the-fullest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/289002\/","title":{"rendered":"Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9’s son tells mourners he had ‘a God-given talent’ that he used to the fullest"},"content":{"rendered":"

The late Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9<\/a> was blessed \u201cwith a God-given talent, but by God he utilised it to the fullest, right up to very recent times\u201d, his funeral Mass has heard.<\/p>\n

Today, Friday, would have been the renowned singer and educator\u2019s 90th birthday, and the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Ballinlough was packed with family, friends, and admirers, gathering only five months after the funeral of his beloved wife Eileen.<\/p>\n

His son, Con \u00d3 S\u00e9, told the congregation that the three cornerstones of his father\u2019s long life had been his career in education, his singing and his family.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer minister \u00c9amon \u00d3 Cu\u00edv was among the mourners at the funeral Mass of Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough Rd, Cork, on Friday. Pictures: Jim Coughlan<\/p>\n

Although Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9 had gained national and international renown as a gifted singer<\/a>, his role as a teacher was his priority, his son said.<\/p>\n

He taught in Wicklow, Bandon, and Gurranabraher on Cork city’s northside, and the final 13 years of his career in education were as principal of St Mary\u2019s on the Hill School in Knocknaheeny. Con \u00d3 S\u00e9 said:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n We saw first-hand his relentless drive and commitment to ensure that every single child in that school got the best possible chance in life.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

A gifted tenor, he first came to prominence as a singer in the 1960s with Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Riada\u2019s group Ceolt\u00f3ir\u00ed Chualann, touring internationally with Comhaltas Ceolt\u00f3ir\u00ed \u00c9ireann, and his 1962 version of An Poc ar Buile<\/a> made him famous.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got so much from the simple act of singing for people,\u201d Con \u00d3 S\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made no difference to him whether it was singing to a packed square in Puck Fair in Killorglin or in the National Concert Hall.<\/p>\n

\" Fr Michael Keohane blessing the coffin bearing the remains of Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9 on its arrival into Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough Rd, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan<\/p>\n

“It is hard to think of two more different settings, but he did knock the same buzz out of one as the other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added that his father loved his family “above all else\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why we will miss him so much. He and Mam gave us the ultimate gift as children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\" Councillor Tony Fitzgerald, Finbarr Archer, and Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy arriving at the Our Lady of Lourdes church, Ballinlough, for Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9’s funeral. Picture: Jim Coughlan<\/p>\n

“They gave us happy childhoods wrapped in the warmth of a loving home. You can do no more for your children.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr \u00d3 S\u00e9 ended his eulogy by paying tribute to his father \u201cin the same way he did to Mam just five months ago\u201d, singing R\u00e9ir D\u00e9 from the \u00d3 Riada Mass.<\/p>\n

The funeral Mass was celebrated by Canon Michael Keohane, and concelebrated by the bishop of Cork and Ross Bishop Fintan Gavin, Fr Colum \u00d3 Se, Bishop Emeritus John Buckley, Fr Kerry Murphy O\u2019Connor, Fr Pat Crean-Lynch, Fr Noel Murphy, Fr Dave McAuliffe, and Canon Teddy O\u2019Sullivan.<\/p>\n

\" Bishop Fintan Gavin concelebrated the funeral Mass of Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough Rd, Cork, on Friday. Pictures: Jim Coughlan<\/p>\n

President Catherine Connolly was represented at the funeral by her aide de camp Commandant Deirdre Newell, and the Taoiseach, Miche\u00e1l Martin, was represented by Captain Brian O\u2019Shea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Martin\u2019s wife, Mary, also attended the funeral.<\/p>\n

Lord Mayor of Cork Fergal Dennehy attended, as did former lord mayor, councillor Tony Fitzgerald, former Fianna F\u00e1il TD and minister \u00c9amon \u00d3 Cu\u00edv, Fine Gael senator Garret Kelleher, and balladeer John Spillane.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer secretary of the Cork GAA County Board Frank Murphy arriving at the church for Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9’s funeral. Picture: Jim Coughlan<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Se\u2019s great friend Peadar \u00d3 Riada<\/a> was there to lead C\u00f3r Ch\u00fail Aodha.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They had sung together in 2023 at Shane MacGowan\u2019s funeral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There too was Peadar\u2019s sister, Se\u00e1n\u2019s goddaughter, Liadh N\u00ed Riada, former Sinn F\u00e9in MEP and presidential candidate.<\/p>\n

\"Singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter John Spillane arriving at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough Rd, Cork, for Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9’s funeral Mass on Friday. Picture: Jim Coughlan<\/p>\n

As the coffin was brought from the church to the sound of C\u00f3r Ch\u00fail Aodha performing A R\u00ed an Domhnaigh from the \u00d3 Riada Mass, through a guard of honour of young pupils from St Mary\u2019s on the Hill, the most vivid rainbow shone through the clouds over Ballinlough.<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Se was laid to rest in the soil of his native Bantry, reunited with his wife of 58 years, Eileen, who went before him last August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The late Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9 was blessed \u201cwith a God-given talent, but by God he utilised it to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[781,9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,5768,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-289002","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-cork-news","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-breakingnews","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-latest-news","18":"tag-latestnews","19":"tag-main-news","20":"tag-mainnews","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-obituaries","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115909774941916948","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}