Remembering Eamonn O'Connor

The death of Eamonn O’Connor has sent shock waves through the music industry, where he was an immensely popular and highly regarded senior figure. Eamonn was diagnosed with cancer less than a month before his death. While he reacted in a characteristically positive and optimistic way, the diagnosis was subsequently confirmed – that it was a particularly virulent form of the illness and that it was already too advanced for treatment to be effective.

Eamonn, originally from the Navan Road in Dublin, was admitted to the Mater Private Hospital for chemotherapy, but it proved to be impossible to turn the illness back.
“Eamonn was a guy who loved his job,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. “He was a real people person, who was always great company, a wonderful storyteller and a razor sharp wit. There was nothing he liked more than having a laugh, but he was also a very sharp businessman. He was hugely popular within the industry and will be desperately missed.”
As the head of Ireland’s largest ticketing agency, Eamonn was involved in all of the major music, entertainment, sporting and other live events around the country and in Northern Ireland, for over 25 years.
“He was one of a kind,” the President of Ticketmaster International Mark Yovich said, “and we will miss him terribly.”
Eamonn began his career as a public servant in the Companies Office, but always had an interest in the world of entertainment and worked at various music events in his spare time.
In 1986, he went into the business of ticket-selling full-time as General Manager of the new Ticket Shop in the HMV Stores, on Grafton Street and Henry Street, in Dublin.
Eamonn was the driving force as the business grew and in 1992 along with his business partner, Tommy Higgins, started Ireland’s first computerised ticketing operation.
In 1997, they entered a joint venture arrangement with Ticketmaster, the leading American ticketing agency and in 2004 Eamonn was made Managing Director of Ticketmaster Ireland. Under his guidance, dedication and enthusiasm, Ticketmaster Ireland grew to be one of the most successful operations in the Ticketmaster group.
He is survived by his wife Breda, son David, mother Maureen, brothers Brian and Shay and sisters Aileen and Mary.
“Eamonn has been an irreplaceable part of the Ticketmaster family for more than thirty years,” Mark Yovich added. “He was an inspiring, entertaining, talented and truly unique personality. Anyone who knew Eamonn, as a colleague or a friend, will have been unforgettably touched by the Eamonn O’Connor magic. Our thoughts are with his family and our colleagues in Ireland during this time.”
There was a huge turnout for the funeral, which took place in Dublin and in Eamonn’s adopted home of Clare.
“It was oversold,” one mourner commented wryly – a view that would have been appreciated by Eamonn O’Connor himself.
The crowd spilled out into the area surrounding the church on the Navan Road, as stunned senior members of the music industry exchanged sombre expressions of shock. “It’s impossible to believe,” Mike Adamson of Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s sister company, said. “I just can’t get my head around it. He will be such a huge loss.”
It’s a sentiment that was widely shared among the mourners.
“I was with Eamonn at Oxegen just a few weeks back and he was in great form, not a care in the world,” Brian Spollen of MCD said. “It’s hard to take it in.”
The eulogy was delivered by his brother Shay O’Connor and a lovely rendition of ‘The Parting Glass’ added a fine touch, bringing things to an emotional conclusion. The family shared condolences with the gathering outside the church, before the funeral left Dublin, heading south west to Clare, where Eamonn was buried on Friday morning.
All of Ireland’s big music promoters were in attendance, with Peter Aiken of Aiken Promotions among the pall-bearers. The funeral was also attended by Maurice Cassidy, who was involved with the late Jim Aiken in the start-up of the Ticket Shop; Denis Desmond, Caroline Downey, Brian Spollen and Brian Whitehead, among numerous others from MCD; John Reynolds and Robbie Butler of Pod Concerts; Pat Egan; Bren Berry of Aiken Promotions, Mary Aiken, wife of Peter Aiken, and Clare Aiken of Aiken PR; Kieran Kavanagh; and Tommy Higgins, who had been Eamonn’s partner in the ticket business and went on to become head of Ticketmaster in Europe, before retiring.
Chauffeur to the stars Mick Devine, who recently accompanied Eamonn to the US, where the diagnosis that the cancer was an especially virulent one was confirmed, reflected ruefully on how Eamonn had travelled in hope, only to be given the devastating news that there was nothing that could be done. Mark Yovich of Ticketmaster International flew into Dublin for the funeral and senior executives from the Irish operation Keith English, Stephen Kavanagh and Michel Harnett were also in attendance.
Others paying their respects to a hugely popular figure in the entertainment industry included Christy Moore, Robert Matthews, Johnny Logan, Brush Shiels, Michael Flatley, Tommy Tiernan, Justin Green, Pat Henry, Jill Keane of O2, Dave Pennefather, Harry Crosbie, Paddy Freeney of Litton Lane, Gerry Lundberg, Áine Carmody, Jill Corway, Ken Sweeney of the Irish Independent, courier to the music industry Ken de Courier, Jimmy Doolin, Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press, and PR man Tony O’Brien.
May he rest in peace.