Dick Reade, hero

Every community has its heroes, writes Brian Byrne. Some of them are immediately recognisable, others perhaps not so. Whichever, they are part of the unique DNA that underpins the life in every village and town in any land.

When one of these heroes passes on, it is understandable that we feel a sense of loss. That a key part of where we live seems to have gone forever. But with the death of Dick Reade, that last is absolutely not the case.

Certainly the loss will be felt deeply by Kitty and the family, by their friends, and by a truly enormous swathe of Kilcullen people with whom Dick interacted through his lifetime.

But he has left something from that interaction, always selfless, which will not just keep him in the memory of this community. It also played its part in producing future heroes, both for Kilcullen and further parts of the world.

Dick had many interests. A stalwart of the St Vincent de Paul right up to his last days. A collector for many local charities, not least the Alzheimers Unit of St Vincents Hospital. And many others.

But his giant interest has been in scouting. And the 9th Kildare Troop, founded in 1977, will be the greatest legacy produced by Dick in partnership with his beloved Kitty. For this work they received in 2007 the Cuchulainn Award, the highest commendation for adults in scouting in Ireland.

Even when they stepped back from full involvement with the troop, they left it in the capable hands of people like Roy Champ and other leaders, including their son Richard.

But what is most important is that the presence of the troop gave an opportunity for hundreds, maybe thousands, of young boys and girls to learn the importance of teamwork, fair play, and striving to achieve goals in both competition and harmony.

As these youngsters grew up and scattered, they were thus equipped to be valued members of whatever community they ended up in. Or will do, in the case of the current group.

Each has now the potential to become—whether in Ireland or the countries across the globe from which many of them tune in regularly to the Diary—heroes themselves in their villages, towns and cities, in the mould of Dick and Kitty.

There can be no greater memorial than that.

Rest in peace, a true giant of a man.



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