Tribute unveiled to Carndonagh’s JP Bradley

A tribute has been unveiled at Carndonagh’s Colgan Hall to popular local man JP Bradley for his contribution to the hall and the local community.

Mr Bradley, who was the caretaker at the building and a member of the hall’s committee, passed away in November 2021.

Originally from Drumhaggart, Muff, he settled in Carndonagh in the 1970s and lived at New Road, close to Colgan Hall.

From 2000 he was a member of the hall committee which oversaw the refurbishment and extension of the landmark building in 2011. He was chair of the committee from 2014 to 2018.

An accomplished comedy actor who took part in more than 30 productions over the decades he lived in the town, he was also a bingo caller at the hall.

As well as his work for the hall, he was a caretaker at the Church of Sacred Heart in the town and was a keen member of the local GAA club. Having been on kidney dialysis for seven years before he got a transplant in 2011, he was also a keen fundraiser for the Irish Kidney Association.

The unveiling of the tribute to Mr Bradley at the hall was held on the first anniversary of his passing and was attended by his widow Brid and children Sean, Maria, Tina and Terence, members of his extended family as well as many of his friends and local people who knew him.

Brid unveiled a photograph of her late husband beside a poster of a play he produced at the hall.

Secretary of the hall committee, Margaret O’Kane, who emceed the event, said Mr Bradley was very committed to the hall during his many years of service.

“He was very much involved in the drama club and was very well known as a comedy actor and he did many, many plays and JP loved being in the plays,” she said.

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“He was the type of person who got involved in everything and he was very involved in every aspect of the hall and was raising funds for the new building on a daily basis.”

The hall also provided a great sanctuary for him during his periods of ill health, she said. “He was quite ill for a long time and it was a great place for him to come to - it was part of his life really and he contributed a lot to it. He had many ups and downs but he was always very cheerful.”

Mr Bradley made every effort he could to support the Irish Kidney Association during his illness, she said. 

“When the kidney association day came around - hail, rain or shine - he was up the town with a  bucket stopping every car that passed. It was a big thing for him and he really felt he had to contribute in any way he could."

He was “a well-known character”,  and family and friends took the opportunity to reminisce about him at the event over food and drink supplied by Supervalu in Carndonagh.

“He was a character so the stories told about him were marvellous.”