An Elphin business surpassing one hundred years
Cathal’s grandfather Patrick outside the shop on Main Street - August 1935
A business institution in the heart of Elphin, Brady’s Funeral Directors and Travel Agents has this year celebrated one hundred years in business.
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ow in its third generation of the family, the business is in the hands of Cathal Brady and his wife Mary (neé Carroll) who hails from Kilmore. The family enterprise was started by Patrick Brady back in 1921. The business continued under the stewardship of Patrick’s son Sean (Cathal’s father) from 1948, the year of Patrick’s untimely death, until Sean’s own untimely death in July 1987 following a short illness. Despite the ups and downs of any business, the Brady brand name has continued to endure and survive thanks to its professionalism, knowhow and attention to detail in ensuring the two arms of its business are run efficiently and smoothly. Cathal himself has been in the business since 1987, the year of his father Sean’s passing, who died at a mere 63 years of age after a short illness. Visitors to the family Funeral Home will be aware of his portrait that hangs in the hallway of the building. After Sean’s death, Cathal took over the running of both the Funeral Home and Travel
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Agency. And while the principles of the former industry remain constant, the latter business has evolved significantly in those 34 years. Looking back, Cathal recalls that time vividly, proving that the fates can intervene in life when we least expect them: “I had been working in Dublin at the time in 1987. After Christmas, my father had the flu. I had already been helping out in the business, helping my Dad with the Funerals. “My brother John had gone to the USA. My father in the Easter of ’87 had been diagnosed with cancer and he died in July. I had been working with Quinnsworth (the well-known chain of Supermarkets) before working with my brother Aidan, who had opened a restaurant on Drury Street in Dublin. “My father’s death was a shock to us all. He had been working in the business for thirty-nine years. He had been Treasurer of Roscommon GAA County Board for twenty six years. He was born in Killina, between Tulsk and Elphin and he married my Mother Mary (nee Leyden) who was from Knockvicar” says Cathal.
