Captain Paddy Jordan, who died recently aged 96 years, was "one of the last of the first". After War of Independence service he joined the Army as a soldier in 1922. There can be few of "the 1922 men" still with us. (Lt-Col Sean Clancy celebrated his 100th birthday recently).
Paddy's father had been a stationmaster and signalman in several places. Paddy had learnt telegraphy from him. Stationmasters in small rural stations were men of many parts in those days.
Jordan was welcome in the new Army. During the Civil War (and a Post Office strike) inter-barrack radio links often carried Government traffic when lines were cut. He was more than an operator. Always interested in the technology, he got considerable experience in the maintenance and repair of communication equipment and rose to be a company quartermaster sergeant (CQMS). He was commissioned in 1938, with a number of other experienced NCOs.
In 1940 his technical ability led to his appointment as Officer Commanding the Depot Signals Workshops in the Curragh. This was a heavily challenged place during the Emergency. Paddy and his staff - a mixture of regular and Emergency personnel - became adept at improvisation. Parts had to be made because spares were scarce. Coil, transformer and generator rewinding was commonplace - from very fine wire speaker coils wound by hand to heavy transformers wound on a lathe. Valve base changes were routine. One had to use any available valves with suitable electronic characteristics.
There were excellent NCOs with technical and managerial experience in unit workshops throughout the corps. Unlike Paddy Jordan, they were not commissioned. The Army was the loser.
In 1946, Paddy went to a Commandant's appointment as Command Signal Officer and O/C 4th Garrison Signal Company. The Defence Forces were under one of their periodic promotion blockages and, like many others, he performed higher duties without the rank or remuneration.
In 1947 he joined Kelly and Shiels, then an expanding electrical equipment agent and wholesaler. He organised repair work on the wide variety of new electrical and electronic equipment that became available after the second World War. He was a valued member of the firm, which had agencies for high-tech manufacturers such as Marconi Instruments and AVOs. He also set up an early assembly plant for EKCO and Mullard TVs and radios.
After Alec Shiels's death in 1968, and the firm's later closure, Paddy founded Patrick Jordan Instruments Ltd. He ran this successfully until his retirement, aged 84.
He was a small, brisk man, always in good humour and always on the move. He found time to be helpful to others. His advice, based on long experience, was always wise. He was punctilious and methodical - never more so than in his approach to daily Mass. He sat in the same seat and laid out his old-fashioned missal and favourite prayers every morning. He was proud of his part in building the Signal Corps and the Army. One son became a Navy Commander and another an FCA Signal Officer. We extend our sympathy to all his family.
E.D.D.