Michael Cannon's deep love of Mayo recalled at his funeral Mass by daughter Lisa

"Dad’s heart was tethered to Cannon’s Pub”

TV presenter Lisa Cannon has spoken of her late father’s Michael's love for Mayo and Cannon’s Pub in Market Square, Castlebar, where he grew up as a child.

Speaking at the funeral Mass in St. Mary’s Church, Sandyford, Dublin, prior to the removal of her dad Mike’s remains to his native Castlebar today for burial, Lisa said his heart was tethered to Cannon’s Pub.

Recalling countless visits to Castlebar over the years to maintain the pub while it was closed, Lisa said he was fiercely proud of the premises especially on the occasion it graced the pages of a ‘Pubs of Ireland’ calendar.

“For dad, heritage was not just a building, it was the laughter echoing in its walls and the family behind the bar and the stories passed down.

“His work on Cannon’s Pub (known as The Academy) was a lifelong love letter to his roots and those who came before.

“He poured his love into restoring it, preserving its charm and honouring his parents."

Mike, born in 1946, was an acclaimed teacher at Coláiste Éanna Secondary School, Rathfarnham, Dublin, but also worked for a time as a journalist interviewing, amongst others, Sid Vicious, Roy Orbison and Bob Geldof, for Hot Press magazine, which he helped establish.

“Although he roamed far and wide he never truly left Mayo," Lisa said in the course of her eulogy.

She movingly described her dad as “not just my father, my soulmate in thought, humour and heart, a true rock star who shaped who I am.

“We danced through life arm in arm, the two of us, just like glue, happy, inseparable.

In keeping with his final wishes, Mike’s remains were brought home to Castlebar for burial in the Cannon family plot in the Old Cemetery.