Best known as a founding member of Fermanagh’s successful Talking Newspaper for visually impaired people, Eugene and his guide dog friends were a familiar site around the town as they made their way together.

A true Enniskillener, Eugene was born between the bridges in Queen Street in 1934. The son of Paddy and Mary-Jane Kelly, Eugene was the youngest of eight children and he often told stories of how the family lived off the fruits of the lough.

Growing up, Eugene always had poor sight and after some years at the Old Brothers School where he had fond memories of lifelong friendships made with contemporaries like Teddy Henderson and Brendan Lilley, Eugene was sent to a special school in Glasgow where he learnt skills like basic braille. 

After returning from school in Glasgow Eugene started work in the hatchery of the old Scotch Stores on Henry Street. He later moved on to work on the creamery van and then after he trained as a boiler fitter, the young Eugene moved on to working in the boiler house.

It was when Eugene joined the St. Michael’s Choir that he met the love of his life, Agnes Smyth of Eden Street. They got married in 1959 and went on to have three children together.