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A 75-year-old man who died after being hit by a reverse pickup truck in the parking lot of a sports field in Cork City was a musician, poet and author who was “an inspiration to everything he knew.”
Pete Newman, who was also known as Pete Duffy, died at the scene at College Corinthians in Donnybrook, Douglas on Saturday shortly after 3:30 p.m.
Parents and officials who were gathered on the ground rushed to help him while gardaí and paramedics arrived at the scene within minutes.
However, Mr. Newman, who lived in nearby Hillcourt in Donnybrook with his family, was pronounced dead before he could be taken to hospital.
Musician Ger O’Sullivan met Mr. Newman at an open mic event at Gallagher’s Pub in Cork City a few years ago. He said Pete was “a talented songwriter, poet and storyteller.”
“It was an inspiration. Age was just a number for Pete. I used to joke with him and say ‘I want to be Pete when I grow up’.
His music and positivity will be sadly missed. He lived many lives in his life. It made us all smile. “
Mr. Newman performed several concerts for charities and composed a special musical number for the Mother Jones Festival.
He was also a great friend to the Douglas Library and the Lantern Project, which runs community education projects in Cork City.
Karina Healy, coordinator of the Lantern Project, said Pete “shared his gift of stories and songs” at his lunchtime concerts.
“He had the gift of lifting people’s spirits. We are deeply saddened to hear of his passing. We loved Pete very much.”
College Corinthians also paid tribute to Mr. Newman saying that he was “loved and respected” by everyone there. They expressed their deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.
Mr. Newman also frequently attended yoga classes at the Sacred Body Studio in Donnybrook. In a statement, the studio said he was a positive man who was “full of energy.”
“We lost a great person. Pete was an example of life. When he was not training, he went to yoga, played guitar, sang or laughed with his dearest friends.”
Mr. Newman grew up on Orrery Road off Cathedral Road in Cork City. A few years ago he gave an interview to the Cork Folklore Project detailing his memories of life in Cork in the 1950s.
He enjoyed a long career as a musician initially with the group Reptiles and later as a soloist. In 2013 he celebrated fifty years in show business by releasing an album of songs written by himself.
She performed material from the album as part of the Mother Jones Festival and took the stage in 2018 at St Finbarr’s Cathedral in Cork as part of the Western Front Association’s “Evening of Remembrance Concert” to commemorate the Irish who died in the Great War.
Historian Gerry White said Pete wrote a beautiful song for the night that brought the story to life.
“It struck a chord that night. He was a wonderful man. The salt of the earth.”
Newman was also the driving force behind the Lennox Robinson Literary Festival and released CDs of his prayerful narratives.
He was also a short story writer and published his first collection “Old Dog for the Hard Road” in 2014. He reissued a second collection entitled “Pup for the Boreen”.
Meanwhile, Gardaí has asked for witnesses to the incident at Corinthians College on Saturday.
The driver of the truck involved in the incident was unharmed but badly shaken. He had dropped off his son for a game and was leaving the parking lot when the accident occurred.
Gardaí cordoned off the scene of the accident for a full forensic examination.
Mr. Newman’s body was taken to Cork University Hospital for an autopsy.
Gardaí is asking anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them at the Garda station on Angelsea Street at (021) 4522000, the confidential Garda line at (1800) 666111 or through the local garda station. .
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