Vale Danny O'Sullivan

10th December 2023, we sadly lost one of our Bridge playing mates, Danny O’Sullivan, who lost his battle with cancer.

Danny was a storyteller mainly about his remarkable life, places he’d been and people he’d met. He loved telling jokes. He would regale us with stories of Captain’s Flat in “the good old days”, travelling expeditions,  building and farming projects and of course the share market.

He spoke often of Ireland and his family.  He participated by remote means in his grand-daughter's travels through Europe and to the family wedding recently. He was booked to go and travel with her but just a few weeks before his departure his blood levels went haywire and he had to start treatment again and cancel his trip.  Danny was very disappointed but cheered it all up with the photos and stories sent from his grand-daughter's travels. She delighted him and he loved following her on social media.

Danny became a member of the Bungendore Bridge Club (BBC) in 2018 having formerly played at Grand Slam in Fyshwick. Danny soon became an enthusiastic Bridge player at Wamboin Social Group on Mondays and at BBC on a Wednesday evening and Saturday morning.

Danny’s bidding was unpredictable and didn’t quite follow the rules. If caught out (as dummy) he’d laugh, shrugging his shoulders and saying, ’It’s only a game!’

But he was a serious and ruthless player and any card you thought would be your winner, would be trashed by the end of the game.

Once, when asked about his system for bridge play, Danny stated that he was an “intuitive player”.  When asked to expand further on this style, Danny would often defer to Anthea, his esteemed Bridge partner, for further clarification. While we are unaware of any reference books related to this style of bridge playing, we suspect it was derived from County Cork in Ireland.

Danny’s legacy is to remind us to enjoy life, be helpful to others, keep active, cherish your family and friends – and Bridge. There will always be a spare seat at St Andrew’s on a Monday afternoon.

VALE DANNY

Contributions from Anthea Sinkovits, Susan Cattoi, Elizabeth Gray. Compiled by Gerry Brooks.