MATTHEW Brocklebank, the last of the Brocklebank family from Rosslare, Co Wexford, has died at age 94.
Mattie was born on the May 7th 1914, the ninth child of Anne (Duignan) and Alfred Brocklebank. He was the youngest brother of John, Leo, Kathleen, Francis, Alfred, Charles, Daniel and a sister Maisie (who passed away at an early age). Matthew was the seventh son of a seventh son.
The family lived in modest surroundings in a small railway cottage in Rosslare. Alfred moved the family to Dublin for better employment opportunities while Matthew was still a young lad.
At the age of 14, Mattie enlisted in the Irish Army. He later transferred to the Irish Air Corps, being motivated by his interest in aircraft. He was assigned to work in Baldonnel as a mechanic. While there, his commanding officer urged him to educate himself further, recognising Mattie’s capacity for innovative and creative problem solving skills in workplace situations.
Mattie’s commanding officer arranged for him to meet a retired professor from Trinity College. They met in a pub and after a few hours of conversation, the professor recognised Mattie’s inquisitive mind and agreed to tutor him for six weeks. Mattie would cycle from Baldonnel every week, hide the bike at the side of the road and thumb a lift into Dublin. After six weeks, the professor decided Mattie would benefit from another six months of tutoring, and so the education continued. He would study at night and late into the morning by candlelight, which led to him losing the sight in one eye. Sadly, because of this disability Mattie’s ambition to become a pilot would never be realised. This did not discourage him, however, from re-inventing himself and leaving the Air Corps for a position in the airline industry.
In 1946 Matthew joined Aer Lingus in Dublin in engineering, where he was eventually placed in charge of all major overhaul work on the company’s aircraft, covering inspection and production – a position which required high technical standards and administrative abilities. During this time he also managed to build three houses on Yellow Walls road in Malahide.
Mattie emigrated to the United States in 1954. By this time he was married to Alice L Barnwell, daughter of Thomas Henry Barnwell, a well-known Dublin bootmaker. In 1955, Alice and their three children, Patrecia, Vincent and Veronica joined him in the US. His first employment there was with Capitol Airlines at Washington National Airport. While working there, the family resided in nearby Virginia. In 1962 Aer Lingus started transatlantic service.
Mattie was contacted regarding employment in engineering at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, a position he accepted. In 1967, he was transferred to Kennedy Airport in New York, an opportunity that led to his promotion to director of Line Service Engineering for the United States and Canada, a position he held until his retirement in 1983.
Mattie came home to Ireland regularly, whether it was to work, sit for exams on newer aircraft, update licences or visit relatives. He always kept in close touch with his large extended family and had a lifelong interest in everything happening in his native Ireland.
He loved his work with Aer Lingus and was highly respected and liked by his co-workers. He retired at the age of 70, but managed to keep in contact with his friends and colleagues until his passing.
He was predeceased by his beloved wife in 1997 and his daughter Patrecia in December 2007. He spent the last year of his life on Cape Cod being lovingly cared for by his daughter Veronica, son-in-law Thomas and their two sons Ryan and Conor. He is also survived by his son Vincent and daughter-in-law Nancy, his granddaughter Jennifer and her husband David and his granddaughter Kerin.
To quote his daughter Veronica: “Lookng through pictures of him, I couldn’t but smile as I realised that there were hardly any pictures of Dad alone. He was the resident stand-in father of the bride to many cousins and always seemed to be in attendance at family events both in the US and in Ireland. Dad was also a man of great faith. In spite of the many challenges and losses life handed him, he never wavered in his belief that the Lord was at his side. He felt that we all had something to give to others no matter how little we might have ourselves.
“Everyone who knew Dad or spent time with him always had the same observation . . . he was the most caring, kind and respectful man they had ever met. There is no greater tribute to a man that anyone can make . . . than to say that he truly cared.” BB
