Tributes paid to chamber president John Humphries

Mullingar Chamber of Commerce has led tributes to president of the Midlands Gateway Chamber John Humphries, who passed away on Saturday morning following a courageous fight against cancer. “John Humphries was absolutely committed to the business community of Mullingar and of the Midlands. His hope and his work was to see this area achieve its great potential and that its development would be a national priority,” said Pat Whelan, chamber president. John was one of the founders of Marketing Mullingar with Bartle D’Arcy, Pat Whelan, and Ronan Byrne of Bloomfield House Hotel. “John had that great Scottish warmth and charm and he was always quick to cut to the chase. He believed that we needed to promote the town as a tourist destination and worked hard on the Festival of Festivals, Mullingar.ie, and The Gar... his enthusiasm for prompting Mullingar never dimmed,” said Bartle D’Arcy. Councillors also paid tribute to Mr Humphries this week. Proposing a vote of sympathy, Cllr Peter Burke praised him for his roles in the chamber and the Lakepoint Residents Association. “I met John three weeks ago. He was very brave in dealing with his illness and was in good spirits, which is a huge testament to the man,” he said. Mayor of Mullingar Cllr Pat Collins added: “As an adopted Mullingar man, in a short time he made a huge contribution”. John’s funeral took place yesterday [Thursday] at All Saints Church, Mullingar, with cremation at Glasnevin Crematorium. He is survived by his wife Deborah and daughter Rebekah.