Till The Road Rang by Danny Comerford & Hugh Hamill
This weekend I attended the months mind of my best friend Danny Comerford. Danny was a writer from Kildare, we grew up together and had been best friends since we were about 10. Danny lost a long fight against cancer in July, I have never seen anyone handle so much, so gracefully and so strongly, he will remain forever more than my friend, he is an inspiration.
Before Danny’s death we had been kicking around the idea of doing a collection of his poetry paired with some of my pictures. The idea was to get our work out there in print, together. We didn’t pick any theme, we just decided to match up the images to the text as well as possible. Originally I suggested going out and shooting specific images to match Danny’s poems, but Danny (presumably from years of experience) knew it’d take me ages to get around to that, and suggested using pictures which I already had.
I put the book together using the blurb software, which allowed me to share the previews with Danny and take some direction from him on changes to be made. I had just about put together the last draft when I got word that Danny had taken a turn for the worse, so as soon as I could I put the book into the printer in the hopes of getting him a copy. I went to visit Danny that Saturday night and spent 4 hours chatting with him about all sorts of things, the good old days, things to come, Kildare football and the book. I was so sorry I hadn’t got the copy yet to bring to him and share with him, but the idea of it definitely gave him a lift, and I know he was proud of what we had achieved with the soft copy.
Danny passed away the following Monday morning, leaving behind a loving family, a diverse collection of friends and a body of written work which I believe will stand the test of time. I was at Danny’s family home on Tuesday afternoon when I got word that the books had been delivered to my office in Galway.
I gave Danny’s parents, Aidan and Cora, each a copy of the book we had created after the Months Mind mass on Saturday, and now that they have theirs I think it’s appropriate to share the book with a wider audience.
The book can be purchased and previewed here and I’m so glad I was able to help bring Danny’s dream of getting his words published in print to reality.
Hugh, very sorry to hear about your loss, but what an inspiring idea! I’m sure the book will serve as a longlasting memory for friends and family, an item to hold onto in sad times. Fair play.
Thanks Sarah, much appreciated.