Goodbye Grampa…

Good morning everyone,

I hope that you’re having a lovely start to the week 🙂

On the 22nd of November 2023, my beloved grandfather, James (Jimmy) Edward Sweeney, sadly passed away. I want to continue exploring the topic of grief with you all here on the page, so that’s what we are going to do in today’s blog.

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Grampa was only a small man, but what he lacked in size, boy did he make up for in character. Growing up in a small cottage in Ireland, with three brothers and three sisters, he left school to work on the farm at 13 years of age.

He left Ireland to work in Scotland, eventually ending up in Wales, where he met my grandmother. Together they had four children and nine grandchildren, creating a Sweeney clan of their own in the Swansea valleys. While he was never a rich man financially, he more than made up for it in other ways – being rich in family, memories, friendships and of the heart.

Grampa was such a loving, caring and supportive man, you’d never see him without a smile on his face. He would always face life with a smile, no matter what the weeks and months had in store for him. In his working life, he was known as “The Bull” – a testament to the strength and determination that he carried throughout his life – an attribute which thankfully he passed down to all of us, his family.

He had an incredible life, and although it’s now come to an end, it’s impossible to think back on the memories and not smile 😄

Coming into 2023, I never thought that I would lose three grandparents so close together, however, I’m just so grateful to have had them in my life for so long. The kindness, lessons and love that they instilled will never leave me, turning me into the person that I am to this day, and helping to mould what my future will look like in tandem.

Grampa, thank you for being the best grandfather that anybody could have asked for – it’s an honour to be known as your grandson. I hope you’re raising a glass of whiskey, chuckling away as you do, while giving Nana and Cap a cwtch up there for me 🍻

As we head into the festive season, we’ll be sure to raise a toast to the hero that you were, are and will always be to us all. Dad, Grampa, Jimmy – the patriarch and eternal inspiration to the Sweeneys. We’ll never forget you Grampa, you’ll be with us wherever we go and whatever we do.