My father, Johnny O’Boyle, was a singer, boxer, comedian and bandleader who, when times were hard, could also turn his hand to a bit of plumbing and building.
Johnny, who has died aged 87, will possibly be best remembered in the wider Irish community as the man who, along with the co-directors of Gaelic Telesport, Pat Whelan and Paddy Coyne, brought the All-Ireland games to screens in Britain via closed circuit TV in the 1970s. It arrived first in London in 1973, then in cinemas and halls around the UK, including Coventry, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham, going on to the US and in Australia.
Johnny was one of the six children of Mary (nee Kearns) and Patrick O’Boyle, a guard on the Lartigue monorail train, and grew up in poverty in a small house in Listowel, County Kerry, that would flood every time the River Feale overflowed. Johnny’s mother died when he was six, and he went to live with his grandmother in Ballyduff, and as the only child in the household was indulged by her.
Baptised Patrick, he enlisted in the Irish army as a teenager – using his older brother John’s birth certificate because he was underage. When the real John was killed in a motorbike accident, the truth came out, but he kept his brother’s name and was known as Johnny ever after.
Arriving in Britain at the age of 18, Johnny joined the Royal Air Force and later went to live in Kilburn, north-west London, where he became something of a local hero as an amateur boxer, surviving 140 fights before turning his attention to a career on stage. To the end of his life he took enormous pleasure in attending meetings of the London Ex-Boxers Association.
He met Gladys Bartley in 1957 at a dance in Camden Town, north London, where he was performing with his band. They married the following year. In the 60s his musical career took off and he toured the world as a singer. He was much in demand as a compere for the many Irish concerts popular at that time. The Johnny O’Boyle Show Band topped the bill across London and was particularly sought after for St Patrick’s Day events.
His flair for comedy led to a successful career as a professional comedian and he toured US bases all over Europe before taking on the role of cruise director with a Greek shipping line.
His marriage to Gladys ended in 1972, and two years later he met Joan Courtney, a folk singer from Dublin. They spent 35 years together and set up home in Ruislip, before marrying in 2009. A bon vivant and raconteur, he loved nothing more than to entertain in his garden. Winters were spent in the Canary Islands, where Johnny and Joan had a large circle of friends.
He is survived by Joan, his daughters Fiona, Shivaun and me, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
