Newspaperman Ted Crosbie was a man of great passions — for sailing, for the Irish Examiner and for his wife and family — and he had a wicked sense of humour that ensured people rarely left him without a laugh or a smile, mourners at his funeral mass have heard.
Mr Crosbie’s daughter Sophie Crosbie painted a vivid picture of her father in a eulogy, saying that if she were to describe him in just a few words, she would sum him up as being about “love, truth, integrity, compassion, courage and a wicked sense of humour”.
Ms Crosbie said her father’s first great love was sailing until, at the age of 15, he went into the family business, the then Cork Examiner, on an informal apprenticeship to work with fitters on the printing presses.
“Dad lived and breathed the Examiner — he didn’t pass a day without reading it cover to cover, debating its contents and examining it — it was a really important part of his life.
“Dad’s other great love and the love whom he built his life around was Mum. He was fortunate enough to meet her in late 20s — they built their life together” and went on to have six children.
Ms Crosbie recalled how her father had only retired a few years from Thomas Crosbie Holdings Ltd when his wife, Gretchen, was killed in a car crash.
“He started going back to his other love, the Examiner, and he continued going back to work for the next 20 years, and the love and the support he got from every staff member of the Examiner carried him through the next 20 years and the loss of our lovely sister, Susie.”
Leading the mourners were Mr Crosbie’s sons, Tom, Andrew and Edward, and his daughters, Elizabeth and Sophie, as well as his 10 grandchildren, Chloe, Patrick, Louise, Barry, Sophie, Michael, Maeve, Tommy, Charlie and Matthew, and his sister, Ruth O’Mahony.
Mass celebrant Fr Patrick McCarthy said that Mr Crosbie, who died at the age of 91 on Sunday, was a true leader within the Irish print media, and his dedication to creating a modern and robustly independent free press was indicative of his commitment to democracy generally.
“It was a joy to listen to Ted explaining the move from earlier forms of typesetting and production of print media to its modern form, a story which is a major part of the social history of the Ireland of the 20th century to which he made an irreplaceable contribution,” said Fr McCarthy.
Among the offertory gifts at the funeral mass at Saints Peter & Paul’s Church were copies of the Irish Examiner and the Echo, as well the flag of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, where the late Mr Crosbie had served as admiral in 1980s, and a framed photograph of his late wife, Gretchen.
President Michael D Higgins was represented by his aide-de-camp, Comdt Brian Walsh, Taoiseach Micheál Martin was represented by his aide-de-camp, Capt Brian O’Shea. The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Deirdre Forde, Cork City Council CEO Ann Doherty and retired bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley also attended.
Also in attendance were Irish Examiner editor Tom Fitzpatrick, Echo editor Maurice Gubbins, Irish Examiner MD Michael Sheehan, former Irish Examiner editor Tim Vaughan, former Echo editor Declan Hassett, former Irish Examiner chief executive Tom Murphy, former Irish Examiner MD Majella Gallagher and former MD of The Irish Times, Liam Kavanagh.
