John Joe was born on May 19th 1913 and inherited his love of traditional music, song and dance from his father William, a noted fiddle player. His contribution to CCE spanned almost 50 years, indeed he was the founder of our neighbouring branch, Anne Devlin CCE. His passion lay in the teaching of the music, passing it on to ensure that it was always preserved. He taught music throughout the entire county and was always available to play a few tunes himself.
He also had a passion for collecting manuscript music and pure ballads of County Wicklow, all the time endeavouring to presreve our heritage and culture and to leave it behind for the generations to come. It is thanks to his wonderful dedication and skill that our culture is as rich and as strong as it is today in County Wicklow.
It seemed fitting to name our branch in honour of him as he taught so many of our teachers: Mary Tallon, Claire Cunningham, Jane Doyle (3 Cunningham sisters), Rory Healy, Marie O'Keeffe and Albert Webster. At The John Joe O'Loughlin School of Music we continue his tradition of past pupils becoming teachers, passing on what they have learned to the next generation.
John Joe passed away on July 1st 2007. Ar dheis De go raibh a ainm dhilis.