A chairde,

Because not all of you are on Facebook, and because many of you knew him in the old IGTF days, I'm writing to let you know that Frank Crowe, aka Tiarnán (and Tiarnán 2), aka Chief Buffalo Breath (I can't remember how many times he changed his screen name!), passed away today. I don't know what the cause of death was...only that he was in his 70s and had had quite a few health problems in the past few years.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Redwolf

I'm very sorry to hear that. I enjoyed his company on the forum and he was very kind to me. I do remember someone saying sometime ago that he did go under the knife. I didn't know his real name but I believe he was from Kerry and that his father was a guard. Toutes mes condoléances and sacrébleu (as he used to enjoy saying to me).

Yes, very sad news. He was more active on Gaeilge Amháin of late, but was always keen to have fun in Irish, posting jokes and proverbs in Irish. In fact, his most recent post was only a few days ago, which makes it feel so sudden. Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís. Life won't be the same without his jokes to cheer us up.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

For those who are on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1666778 ... 348120120/

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Sad, he was a knowledgeable poster and great fun! I remember him from the IGTF days. I did read somewhere (IGTF?) that he was sick a few years ago (man, some of us have been around a while haven't we?). I didn't realise he was in his 70s.

Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam.

It was a very rough last couple of years for him. He was quite ill about two or three years ago, I think...I can't remember exactly what was wrong, but I believe it was something to do with his heart (that's when I learned he was in his 70s, which surprised me...I'd pictured him for years as a 30-something!), and he did have surgery. At the time the outlook was grim, and I don't know if he ever fully recovered. And then last year his son died suddenly and unexpectedly, which broke his heart.

Another thing people who didn't know him on Facebook might not be aware of is that he was a medical doctor. He gave me some very comforting input a couple of years ago when I was worried about a medical problem I had. Most of the people who posted on his page (but who were not from the Irish-speaking part of his life) called him "Doc."

As Breandán said, he's mostly been active on Facebook lately, and was a regular participant on the Gaeilge Amháin page. I think he'd have been pleased at the many sincere condolences in Irish! He was a great character, and will be deeply missed.

Redwolf

What I really liked was that he was helpful and funny without being doctrinaire, which made him so much more effective as an ambassador of Irish. I raise a glass to him!

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I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.

He was hilarious from what I remember. Great guy.

He was a lovely, gentle, kind man. He will be missed by a lot of people, me included.
Facebook won't be the same without his funny posts.

His obituary -

http://www.enidnews.com/obituaries/dr-t ... 1884c.html

Ah, you beat me here, Bríd...I was just going to post this link!

His passion for the language was well-known, but I didn't know until I read this that he was FROM Ireland (as I think most of you know, we Americans tend to identify by ethnicity, so it would not be at all strange for an American to identify as "Irish" who had never actually set foot in Ireland). God...what a life he led! When I think of him, I still think of him as speaking in an Oklahoma accent, because "Frank from Oklahoma" is how I've always thought of him.

He and I didn't agree politically, but that didn't keep us from being friends, nor did it keep him from being extremely kind to me. I can't quite imagine Facebook without his humor.

Redwolf