BOB GELDOF SNR:BOB GELDOF snr, who has died aged 95, was a founding member of the Dún Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club and the father of the rock star and development activist Bob Geldof.
Born in Dublin on November 12th, 1914, his father, Zenon Geldof, was a Belgian chef who had worked in some of London’s leading restaurants before taking up a position in the Bray Head Hotel. Zenon and his wife Amelia had three other children, Sonny, Mai and Cleo. Mai, at 101, survives her brother.
Bob Geldof snr followed in his father’s footsteps when after attending Blackrock College – until his death he was thought to be the Dublin school’s oldest surviving “old boy” – he too entered the hospitality trade, working as a chef in London’s Carlton Club and with the Cunard Line. He also worked on the Queen Mary’s maiden voyage and many subsequent voyages.
When he returned, he met his future wife Eve in Cork. His son, in his funeral oration, recalled the story that Eve was already engaged when Bob met her. His repeated invitations to her to dine with him resulted in the other man challenging Bob to a fight. Bob won and Eve and he married.
They had three children, Cleo, Lynn and Bob jnr. But when Bob was seven, his mother died from a brain haemorrhage. By this time his father had set up his own company, travelling throughout the country as a manufacturer’s agent.
Although Bob snr and Bob jnr endured a typically robust relationship during the latter’s teenage years, the young Geldofs respect and love for his father was evident in his 1986 biography, Is That It? which offered thanks to many but “most importantly, to my dad ’cos I now understand – and I hope he does too”.
Although a life-long Catholic, Bob Geldof cherished independent thought, a value he passed on to his children. Apart from Bob jnr, his daughter Lynn has been an outspoken journalist and more recently worked with Unicef in Africa and Switzerland. In recent years, as his love of sailing gave way to the limits of age, he remained active in other areas including gardening and he followed keenly the activities of his children and grandchildren. According to his family, the recent arrival of his first great-grandchild gave him great joy.
Bob Geldof: Born November 12th, 1914; died August 24th, 2010