Alphie McCourt pictured with Doris Meyer, chair of the United Federation of Teachers Irish Studies Committee, at the UFT's Annual McCourt Lecture in 2015. PHOTO: PETER MCDERMOTT
By Peter McDermott
pmcdermott@irishecho.com
“A gentle, funny, courteous and witty man.”
So said Irish novelist Joseph O’Connor upon hearing of the sudden death on Saturday of the Limerick-born, New York-based writer Alphie McCourt, at age 76.
O’Connor said McCourt was a “strong supporter” of the University of Limerick’s inaugural Frank McCourt Creative Writing Summer School, which will be held at NYU later this week.
“Indeed, he spoke at our ‘Tribute To Frank McCourt’ only last Sunday [June 26] and brought the house down with the funny, heartfelt and moving speech he made with his brother Malachy,” said Professor O’Connor, who is McCourt Chair of Creative Writing at UL.
“Alphie, a gifted and successful writer himself, had great success with his memoir ‘A Long Stone's Throw,’” added the novelist, “He was a very proud son of Limerick, admired and deeply respected all throughout New York's Irish community. Among the city's writers and wider literary circles he was regarded with immense affection and love.”
Origin Theatre Company founder and Limerick native George Heslin also recalled a recent performance by the writer. “It was an honor that he joined Origin alongside his brother Malachy two weeks ago for our annual Bloomsday breakfast,” he said.
“Alphie McCourt was a true gentleman. Gentle being the operative word. A kind soul who believed in art and the power of words,” Heslin added. “Life is precious and time even more so. Thank you, Alphie, for your brilliance.”
“Alphie McCourt was our great friend and champion,” said Doris Meyer, chair of the United Federation of Teachers Irish Studies Committee. “We treasured his steadfast support of our special events and his wonderful warmth and humor. Just last month, he attended our 5th annual Frank McCourt Memorial Lecture given by Peter Quinn and presented us with a plaque of ‘A Soldier's Song’ in English and Irish. He said he'd been carrying it around for years and didn't want to forget it this time.
“We cherish this gift all the more as we mourn his death,” said Meyer, who is also president of the American Irish Teachers Association.
Alphie McCourt was born in July 1940, the youngest of the seven children of Malachy McCourt Sr. and the former Angela Sheehan. The eldest Frank, born in Brooklyn in 1930, would achieve worldwide fame with the memoir “Angela’s Ashes,” which focused on the family’s poverty-stricken circumstances and his father’s alcoholism. He died in 2009. Malachy’s birth in 1931 was followed by those of twins Eugene and Oliver in 1932 and Margaret in 1935. She died at 7 weeks, and the twins also died in early childhood. Michael was born after the family returned to Ireland. Once described as the “dean of San Franscisco bartenders,” Michael McCourt died in that city last September at age 79.
Alphie McCourt, who held down a wide variety of jobs after his arrival in New York in 1959, followed his brothers Frank and Malachy into the arts. His most recent book was “Soulswimming."
“He will be greatly missed by all who were blessed to know him. He was a gentleman, a very kind and goodhearted person,” O’Connor said on behalf of the UL Creative Writing Summer School. “We send sincerest condolences to his wife, Lynn, daughter, Allison, the McCourt family, and all Alphie's many dear friends in Ireland, in New York and further afield.”
