Shooting victim left Kerry to seek work in US
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SHOT dead this week following a dispute between neighbours in northern California, John Michael O'Sullivan had left Kerry in the early 1980s, when he was aged just 21 and the county was in the grip of mass unemployment.
From Caol, Chapeltown, John was a proud Valentia Islander and a promising wing back for the local Young Islanders football team. He had also played for Kerry at underage level.
Son of Mike and Tess O'Sullivan, former owners of The Royal Hotel Knightstown, he is a past pupil at Ballyhearney and Cahersiveen CBS. Considered a hard and diligent worker, he went on to work in local construction and was also no stranger to farm work.
His ticket out of the area was a trip to New York as a guest with Waterville GAA Club in 1982. When the club returned home, John remained in New York, where he worked in the construction industry for several years, residing in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
When work slackened in New York, John packed his bags and headed west in 2000, eventually settling close to Fiddletown, Amador County, California. Situated in the north of the state, the sleepy village has just 200 inhabitants and is located west of the state capital Sacramento.
He bought a 40-acre ranch in an area which had been part of the 1849 gold rush but is now known as a wine producing region. He settled into farming his land and was also involved in property speculation.
Married to Krista, he is survived also by five year old son Michael Seamus, his one-yearold daughter Tessie Darlene, step-son Jacob and step-daughter Lydia. The couple also had an adopted son called Shane.
- KEVIN HUGHES
