Ex-MEP Mick Wallace has honoured his son Joseph, who passed away due to a brain tumour at just 30 years old earlier this week. At the service held in the Victorian Chapel at Mount Jerome, Dublin, Mr Wallace fondly remembered their mutual love for football. They had originally planned to visit the European Championships this week, with the intention to watch the game between Italy and Switzerland in Berlin. The fixture, unfortunately, coincided with the funeral arrangements.
Joseph Barry Wallace breathed his last at Tallaght University Hospital on Thursday. Last year, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and even though he was coping with it, he fell ill while at the Beyond the Pale festival in Glendalough, Co Wicklow last weekend.
The humanist service saw many paying their respects to Joseph. His father, discussing personal memories of Joseph by Patricia (Joseph’s mother) and his siblings, Gráinne, Sasha, and Fionn, underscored the profound effect he had on people. He appreciated the unique relationships Joseph formed with each of them.
Mick Wallace, reminiscing the many ways he remembers and admires his son, said that they would use these memories to uphold themselves in the coming times. Joseph was a footballer for Wexford Youths, a club his father set up in 2007, it is presently known as Wexford FC in the First Division.
Mr Wallace told everyone how Joseph had looked forward to spending more time with his father attending football matches, especially in Italy, after Mick’s recent loss in the European elections. They loved being part of the electric atmosphere at the Curva, the ultra section of Italian clubs, particularly Torino.
While Mr Wallace candidly admitted that the family will never truly recover from Joseph’s loss, it is their hope that the support and kindness of others can provide some solace during this challenging time.
“We harbour no false hopes, we won’t claim that we’ll move past this grief, because that won’t be possible,” he expressed to those grieving. “We will not assert that we’ll get through this loss because it’s simply impractical, but we must endure. And endure we shall. Where we will find the strength for it remains a mystery, however, we’ll source it from somewhere.”
A considerable number of those paying their respects were adorned in pink shirts, symbolic of Wexford FC’s colours.
Subsequently, Joseph Wallace was incinerated in the crematorium located at Mount Jerome.