West Kerry resembles Sparta: it is a word of great enchantment but a dura matrix, a stern heartland: for Paddy Moriarty it was to be the love of his lifetime, but Dublin was his wife.
If there had been a university in Tralee, it is likely that he would have become a brilliant engineer or an inspiring teacher, but in those dark ages "the hungry sheep looked up and were not fed".
Paddy got a sound education from the Christian Brothers - and, like Dick Whittington, he set out for the big city. Dick brought with him his cat; Paddy brought a good Leaving Certificate.
He got a job with the Electricity Supply Board at a wage that paid his digs but left him with little to savour the bright lights; he made a virtue out of necessity and enrolled at the Rathmines School of Commerce.
There he qualified as a member of the Chartered Secretaries' Institute. Even if Paddy had had money to spare in his early days in Dublin, I suspect that he would still have set about furthering his education. In this he was following in a good tradition. It has been the touchstone to success of many an Irish man and woman who went west across the Atlantic or east over the Irish Sea. Paddy would have succeeded in any field that he chose; he elevated common sense to genius. I would have sent him to the fair with a rail of bonhams or to an international conference of the highest importance.
The array of his roles is mesmerising.
He was chairman of the Government Task Force appointed to examine the Culleton Report. He was involved in the foundation of Siamsa Tire and in the evolution of Kerry Airport.
He was on the board of Leopardstown Racecourse and very much a part of Grange Golf Club. His love of racing wasn't surprising: he grew up in a world where horses were very much part of the culture. One of his grandfathers bred horses - and the annual Dingle Race Meeting at Ballintaggart is the best of its kind in these islands.
In the light of his success in management it may be forgotten that he was a staunch trade unionist; he was a founder member of the ESB Officials' Association.
I could go on and on about Paddy's public achievements; it may not be generally known that a few years ago he was called upon to sort out matters in a famous Dublin school that was on the brink of chaos.
At the funeral Mass in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Donnybrook, I recalled a well-justified boast ascribed to Christopher Wren: "If you seek my monument, look around you."
Paddy will always be remembered at the flagship of the ESB in the era when it was bringing about a quiet revolution. It is more or less forgotten now that the concept known as the Shannon Scheme was much derided at its mooting. Its history is perhaps the greatest success story in our State. Only those of us who are older and of country background fully appreciate the benefits of rural electrification.
It literally brightened country life: it was, for example, a blessing if you were minding a calving cow or a farrowing sow or just taking a walk around the yard to see if things were all right before you went to bed.
Paddy Moriarty grew up in a generation that got nothing easy, but in a world that bequeathed a priceless legacy. He was lucky in his birthright: all around him were the archetypal images that Jung deemed so influential - the sea, the contrast of mountains and fertile valleys, and the mixture of two languages that were spoken with colour and precision.
He made the most of his good fortune. At the funeral Mass I was reminded too of the epitaph that Samuel Johnson composed for his friend, Oliver Goldsmith: "He touched nothing that he didn't adorn."
Paddy was very proud of Kerry and we are very proud of him. Ta ar laoch imithe ach beidh se linn go deo.