Just a few months before his death late last year, Hugh O’Hare received an invitation to Áras an Uachtaráin.
President Michael D Higgins was hosting an afternoon tea event to celebrate the positive role of a diverse group of Irish people in their communities, and the efforts they had made to build a better, shared future.
Hugh was recognised for his determined work over many years to support victims of the Troubles following the death of his wife on what became known as Bloody Friday.
Hugh had met and fallen in love with Margaret Donnelly after moving to Belfast from Co Down in the 1950s. She worked in a pharmacy and he became a frequent customer, in the hope of catching her eye.
They married in 1960 and had seven children – Deirdre, Kevin, Eamonn, Malachy, Michael, Sheelagh and Maureen.
However, the family’s lives would be ripped apart on Friday July 21 1972 when she was one of nine people killed when 19 IRA bombs detonated in little over an hour.
As panic spread across the city, 37-year-old Margaret had left her brother’s house in search of her children.
She arrived at the Cavehill shops in north Belfast shortly after 3pm and left her car just as the 18th device exploded without warning, killing her along with 65-year-old Brigid Murray and 14-year-old Stephen Parker.
Three of her children who were with her survived but were among 130 people left injured that day.
Margaret was buried by Hugh on their 12th wedding anniversary, leaving him inconsolable and with seven children under 11 to raise.
And while he would later meet Claire O’Neill and enjoy 48 years of happy marriage, he campaigned throughout his life in memory of Margaret and other victims of violence.
Hugh would take the Secretary of State to court over a refusal to pay compensation on the grounds Margaret had been a housewife and did not contribute a wage to the family. He said at at the time: “I have a wife in a million – how do you compensate for that?”
He also sued on behalf of army widows and wives of injured soldiers who served in Northern Ireland.
He maintained contact with the family of Stephen Parker and, along with other victims, planted white crosses at City Hall to remember all those killed in the Troubles. He wrote to some of the Omagh bomb victims. He also wrote to to Gerry Adams, but did not receive a reply.
All of this was done without desire for publicity or thanks.
However, his daughter Deirdre said he was proud to be invited to the president’s residence last year to hear him speak in praise of those who stand up for the vulnerable and marginalised in society.
“It was a fitting tribute to him for his work in that field, which he undertook quietly and without seeking recognition.”
Hugh was by nature an unassuming man, universally described as a gentleman, who performed countless acts of generosity in his professional and personal life, but always without fuss.
Born in June 1931 in Finnis near Dromara, into a farming family, he was the second eldest of 11, three of which survive him.
He won a scholarship to study at St Colman’s College in Newry, where his talent for sport saw him line out on the school’s first ever MacRory Cup-winning team in 1949.
His son Eamonn would later also lift the cup for Colman’s in 1981, making them one of only three father and son combinations to hold MacRory medals.
Hugh was appointed head boy and later contributed a cup to the school which is given to his successors.
After school Hugh moved to Belfast and became an accountant, soon building a thriving practice.
He passed on the value of hard work and education to his children and all went on to be successful in different fields, as well as blessing him with 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Hugh’s large accountancy practice, built from scratch, would spread to locations throughout Ireland.
He helped develop one of the largest offshore contractors in Britain with his friend Tom Maginnis – though few would know that JMJ stood for Jesus, Mary and Joseph – Hugh never lost his sense of humour.
He was also instrumental in helping set up the Lagan construction business in 1971.
He quietly and surreptitiously assisted clients and others over the years and it was only after his death that people approached the family expressing their gratitude for his generous intercession in times of difficulty
Deirdre said he was a “deal maker and intermediary”.
“He got closely involved with his clients’ business, many of whom became close, lifetime friends.
“He quietly and surreptitiously assisted clients and others over the years and it was only after his death that people approached the family expressing their gratitude for his generous intercession in times of difficulty.”
Away from work Hugh loved golf, playing into his late eighties, and spending time in a holiday home in Donegal.
However, he was happiest simply sitting in the garden in the sun with his children and grandchildren, reading or talking about sport and enjoying perhaps a cigar and a glass of Bushmills.
Hugh died on November 19 last year, followed just a month later by his wife Claire.
They are survived and sadly missed by their seven children and wider family circle.