Richard Venton: THE DEATH in his 99th year of Richard Henry (Dick) Venton of Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, breaks a living link with the era of the hiring fairs. Richard was first hired out from a hiring fair as a 12-year-old, to a farmer in Co Leitrim for six months. When he had Sundays off, he used walk home in the afternoon to see his family. In that first six months, he only got home twice.
This was only one facet to the life of a man who was a walking encyclopaedia of rural skills and lore. He was one of the last men who could operate a Lough Erne cot, the working boat peculiar to the Erne basin. For 500 years the cot was a major means of transport for people living round the river and its lakes. He was a skilled thatcher, having worked at that trade when thatch still roofed most country houses. He could make hay ropes. His knowledge of the signs of weather was legendary; he could smell rain well before it fell.
Richard lived through the upheavals of the 20th century. He was sorely touched by the second World War. Until the end of his life, he grieved for his youngest brother Willie, killed in the Belfast blitz of Easter 1941. Willie had worked at a clerical job in the city.
Richard was born on March 5th, 1911, the second child and oldest son to Richard Venton and his wife Fanny (née Fry) at Killygorman, outside Killeshandra, Co Cavan. Richard snr had a small farm. From boyhood, Richard worked at what manual jobs he could get around Cavan, Fermanagh and neighbouring counties; the jobs were mostly agriculture-related. Then in 1933 he put down roots in Fermanagh, buying a small farm outside Newtownbutler.
In 1946 Richard married and bought a 21-acre farm at Lebally, near Maguiresbridge. As his children grew, he expanded by buying a neighbouring farm of similar size. Even as a pensioner he was noted for physical strength in his work about the farm.
His formal education ended when he left national school at 10. After that, he successfully educated himself. He was widely read, particularly in theology and politics. Richard had a hatred for anything he perceived as injustice. In a rural society, where rocking the boat is frowned on, he stood up for himself. That won him respect, even from those he stood up to.
He is survived by his wife Olive, children Richie, George, Winnie and Linda, and 12 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his great-granddaughter Mia.
Richard Henry (Dick) Venton: born March 5th, 1911; died December 3rd, 2009