John Carty was a retired school Principal and native of Ballinalee. He always had a tremendous interest in local history and was a member of Longford Historical Society for many years.
John was immensely proud of the fact that he was, as he said himself, 25% Farrell. His maternal grandmother was a Farrell from Fostra. Given his interest in history and the fact that the Farrells have played such an important part in the history of Longford for the last 1000 years it comes as no surprise that he got involved in the Farrell Clan at an early stage , and played a pivotal role in the organisation of the first Farrell Clan Rally in 1993.
John organised an exhibition of Farrell Clan Memorabilia in Longford Library as part of that Rally. He drew on the contacts he had in The National Library and The Chief Heralds Office to have rare and valuable artefacts released to him for the exhibition.
His organisational abilities and advice were invaluable to a new organisation embarking on their maiden journey. His attention to detail and meticulous planning were evident in all the work he undertook. The full extent of his talents is evidenced by the variety of tasks that he undertook on that occasion. John wrote speeches, translated speeches into Irish, gave Historical lectures. He also used his knowledge of history, heraldry and tradition to compose the Oath of Inauguration for the installation of our Clan Chieftain.
