Sad news

Dear All,

I had a phone call this morning from Anne Quinn, (niece of
Patrick (Paddy) Kiernan) saying that he died last evening, 28th July after a
short illness. Patrick had his 92nd birthday in June.

Patrick’s involvement in breeding daffodils was amazing – it all
started through his reading of an article about Richardson’s daffodil
breeding activities in Waterford. Patrick lived

in a neat whitewashed cottage at the end of Cam Lane in Edgeworthstown, Co
Longford. It is difficult to imagine a more rural or isolated setting.
Patrick had no contact with other

daffodil growers, no advice or tutoring and yet he raised many thousands of
seedling daffodils on his own initiative. On visits we had the honour of
helping him to select good ones and growing them on for him.

To date four clones have been named – Cam Lane; Glen Lake; Inny River and
Lough Gowna, names that reflect his interest in fishing. A large selection
of his seedlings were obtained by Frankie Charlton of Choice Bulbs and are
being grown on in Holland for further trial. We have several seedlings in
the pipeline from his flowers including the recently named ‘Hot Line’ that
will soon be introduced by Esker Farm Daffodils.

This charming, shy and modest man has left a nice little legacy for daffodil
enthusiasts to enjoy in the future. Like many, I am sad at his passing but
feel privileged to have known him as a friend and to have enjoyed the
hospitality of his family when we visited Cam Lane.

Fumeral service will be held to-morrow at 12o’clock in the church in
Edgeworthstown

Sincere condolences to Anne and family.

Brian Duncan

1 comment for “Sad news

  1. Brian, thank you for this post. There are so many daffodilians around the world that the majority of us will never get to know, Mr. Kiernan being just one. How wonderful that he will live on through his flowers!

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