Super Garden winner who died suddenly left this world on a ‘complete high’, funeral Mass hears

Gardener John Dooley, who less than a fortnight after he won the RTÉ Super Garden contest and exhibited his winning design at the Bord Bia Bloom festival, was remembered at his funeral as bringing joy to those around him.

There was a sense of shock among the congregation at the Church of the Assumption in Castledermot, Co Kildare, on Saturday as they recalled Mr Dooley’s sudden death last Wednesday at the age of 57.

Mr Dooley was a sacristan in the church and maintained the gardens around it.

He had left the world “on a complete high”, his younger brother Michael told mourners. His work as a gardener was also his hobby and he had reached the podium of his ambitions with his Super Garden win and exhibition at Bloom. His friends and families were looking forward to the next chapter of his life, but it was not to be.

Mr Dooley was an accidental entrant to the RTÉ garden design show – his wife Liz having signed him up for it without his knowledge.

His Super Garden entry, entitled Back to the Future, was designed for a Latvian woman who has been living in Ireland for 20 years and who has scoliosis.

John Dooley was the fifth in a family of 11. He was the “golden boy” of the family and had an “easy-going, no rush mentality”, Michael recalled. He was able to turn his hand to so many things and do them well.

His life changed when he met his wife Liz in 1994 and they were married in 1995. They began selling fruit and vegetables locally and their passion for all things gardening remained.

He only revealed to his family in March that he was participating in the gardening show, Michael said.

Those who saw the Back to the Future garden on television did so in “complete awe. There were cheers and tears in our house when he won and in so many houses around the country”.

Michael recalled that last thing he said to his brother was that their mother and father, who passed away in 1996 and 2001 respectively, would have been so proud of his achievements.

In the funeral home, a bumblebee gathered nectar from a display of flowers. Wherever nature was, John Dooley’s spirit would never be far away, Michael concluded.

The happiness of his win had been changed from joy to sorrow in the space of a few short days, chief celebrant Fr Aidan Kieran told mourners.

The sorrow was tempered by the realisation of Mr Dooley’s goodness as a person and the good he did for his community. “He has touched so many people over the last couple of weeks over our television screens,” Fr Kieran said. “Even on screen John came across as genuine, sincere and likeable.”

As a man of faith, Mr Dooley saw his gift as a gardener as bearing witness to “God’s creation. He wanted the children of the community to come to love God’s gift of creation”.

He had created a nice area for prayer and photographs at the back of the church around the statue of the Virgin Mary. He had also planted a garden to honour those who had died during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Mass was concelebrated by Fr Francis McCarthy and Fr Bill Shaughnessy.

Mr Dooley is survived by his wife, brothers, sisters, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and a large circle of friends. Burial took place afterwards at Coltstown Cemetery.