RIP: John Walsh of Bere Island

John Walsh was one of the key figures behind the successful 5k parkrun on Bere Island.

Notice on RIP IE... https://rip.ie/death-notice/john-walsh-cork-beara-560315

Tony Higgins writes... "Yesterday evening, St. John’s Eve, our great friend John lost his long battle against illness in Cork University Hospital, with his wonderful wife Sheila by his side.

Of the many hundreds of friends I have made through parkrun in the last nine years, none was more special than John. Although John and Sheila were at our inaugural parkrun in Tralee in 2015, I didn’t really get to know him until I visited his beloved Bere Island parkrun later that year. It didn’t take long to realise that John was what you might call an unpolished diamond – a bit rough on the outside but with a jewel for a heart. I love visiting Bere Island and my favourite visits were those when I ran with John, the 5K turned into 3K and I learned something new about the island every time. It will not be the same without him and my next visit will be a sad one, yet I still look forward to it. 

John and I were among the first to be asked by Matt Shields to take on the role of parkrun Ambassador, and John’s contribution to parkrun has been immense, not just the wonder that is Bere Island parkrun, but to many other events in Munster and beyond.

A proud Corkman who grew up in Mayfield, he was an even prouder Bere Islander, and of course parkrun was just one small facet of his huge dedication to his local community in this very special place. In 2019 he was elected Chairman of the European Small Islands Federation and so many other islands benefited from his knowledge and expertise.

John’s loss will be felt through the parkrun community, this is a lovely message from Paul Sinton-Hewitt, founder of Parkrun:

“I met John at Bere Island parkrun very early in the events life. We immediately became friends. While we didn’t talk on a regular basis, John always remembered to be in touch for the important things and he was always so kind, generous and funny. 

I know this is a major loss to John’s family and so too for Bere Island but also for Ireland and our family. This is a desperately sad day for us all. RIP John. May the memories of your impact live forever.”

To me, John was a great friend, a practical advisor, a trusted confidant and my parkrun roommate at our annual conferences. He was liked by everyone who knew him and I was privileged to have shared some of my parkrun journey with him. 

Rest in Peace John, and my sympathies to Sheila, Laura, Aoife and Adam and all John’s family and friends.

Tony Higgins

Tralee parkrun and parkrun Regional Ambassador"