The late Paddy Keane Flynn aff ectionately known as ‘The Birdman’.

The late Paddy Keane Flynn aff ectionately known as ‘The Birdman’.

NOW retired from Mount Sion Secondary
School, Sean Crowe is an English teacher held
in awe and respect by his former pupils who are
forever grateful for his teaching, his inspiration
and his kindness.
Over the years, Sean has written some beautiful
pieces that graced the pages of this newspaper
and recently he has been reflecting on some
of the great characters that were once part and
parcel of city life.
Sean had a fondness for men like the late
Paddy Keane-Flynn, known to several generations
of Waterfordians as ‘The Birdman’.
“A small, rounded man, cap on head, newspapers
protruding from his overcoat pockets,
his destination the Clock Tower on the Quay.
Before his arrival with his bag of breadcrumbs,
birds gathered in anticipation on the roofs of the
buildings across the road,” recalled Sean.
Sean also remembers the late Walter Huet
with affection.
“A member of a prominent Dublin business
family, Walter spoke like an aristocrat and would
not have been out of place at dinner in Downton
Abbey.
“One of his tricks was to veer into the middle
of the road and lie prone. Somebody would
always call an ambulance thinking an accident
had occurred and Walter would then spend a cold
night in a warm bed, in a warm ward attended by
warm nurses! The ambulance men knew their
client well and were not fooled but they always
looked after him.”
Sean believes the 16th Century poet, Henry
Wotton, accurately summed up characters like
Mr Keane-Flynn and Mr Huet in his poem, ‘The
Character of a Happy Life’.