Family pays tribute following death of Fermanagh man Gerry Cassidy

Gerard (Gerry) Cassidy (66), late of Devenish Crescent, Enniskillen, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 13, 2022 following a short battle with cancer.

The late Gerry Cassidy.

‘Core values’

Describing her beloved late father as a hardworking family man, Gerry’s daughter Terri McCanny said: “He was a hard worker, especially for us as a family. That was his biggest thing, he put us first and worked hard to get us everything we needed.”

“He was a really good dad. We all came first,” added Gerry’s son Nicky Cassidy, echoing his sister’s sentiment that family was very important to their father: “He taught us core values, and the importance of hard work. He really modelled us on how to be a real good, selfless person and be a great contributor to the community. He was just such a good, loving man,” Terri told The Impartial Reporter.

Born to Anthony and Eileen Cassidy, Gerry grew up with his siblings in the countryside of Monea, Co. Fermanagh. The family later moved from Monea into Enniskillen.

Gerry lived the rest of his life in Enniskillen.

“When he moved into his house at Devenish Crescent, Silverhill, it needed serious renovation. He spent his life making it the house of his dreams. He was really proud of that,” said Terri.

When he was just 15 years old, Gerry met the love of his life Geraldine.

“She was a friend of his sister’s,” said Terri, explaining how her parents met: “They’ve been sweethearts their whole lives, they were very close as a couple. They done everything together.”

“They would have been 46 years married at the end of June,” she added.

To mark their 45th wedding anniversary last year, the whole family came together to celebrate with a party.

“We had a good family night together celebrating,” said Nicky.

As a young man, Gerry trained as an apprentice joiner. After completing his apprenticeship he worked as a joiner for a number of years before taking up a job at Petal Postforming in Irvinestown, where he worked for 16 years. He later went on to start his own cleaning company Total Cleaning Systems.

Gerry had a great sense of humour and was known for being good craic.

“A lot of people were here telling stories about him and the craic they used to have. He was good fun to be around,” said Nicky, fondly recalling his father’s sarcastic sense of humour.

“He wouldn’t have been a man of many words but the one liners he would have said were always very funny,” added Terri.

Gaelic football fan

A keen Gaelic football fan, Gerry would often attend Enniskillen Gaels matches. However, due to his Monea roots, he also had a soft spot for the Derrygonnelly Harps, leaving his allegiance torn when the two teams faced off on occasion. He also was a great supporter of his county team.

A family man through and through, Gerry loved spending time with his grandchildren and was a doting grandad to them all.

“He loved getting the kids jelly tots and treats. That would be one of his favourite hobbies, making sure he had enough sweets for the kids,” said Terri, adding: “My wee boys are small, I’m heartbroken for them because we had the best experiences with daddy. With the kids being so small, we want to keep his memory alive for them. That’s really important to us.”

Following a short time of illness, Gerry passed away suddenly in the early hours of Monday morning.

“He had a very short illness with lung cancer. He worked right up to six weeks ago so he didn’t stop for very long,” Nicky told this newspaper on Tuesday, speaking of the shock of his father’s passing: “We didn’t actually get the diagnosis that he had lung cancer until this morning but he was undergoing tests.”

Great support

Talking about the great support from the local community following her father’s passing, Terri said: “We’ve taken such comfort from our neighbours, friends and family coming and supporting us. We are very grateful for the love and support that we’ve received.”

“It was very humbling for us as a family to hear people saying so many nice things about dad,” she added, talking about the great number of people who attended the wake and shared tributes online.

Gerald Cassidy Funeral

Gerry’s funeral was arranged by Enda Love & Sons Funeral Directors and took place on Wednesday, June 15 with Requiem Mass at St. Michael’s Church, Enniskillen followed by burial in Cross Cemetery.

Devoted husband of Geraldine and loving father of Nicky (Tara), Toni (Declan), Terri (Paddy), Gavin (Lorena) and Kirsty (John), and beloved grandad of Cora, Josh, Molly, Louie, Paídi, Kitty, Conn and Jack and Casey in heaven, Gerry is greatly missed by his whole family circle and many friends.

“Dad was at the centre of all of our lives, no matter what was going on,” said Nicky.

“He was our rock.”

Gerald Cassidy Funeral.