Bernard "Bunny" Carr (31 July 1927 – 19 September 2018) was an Irish television presenter. He presented shows such as '' Quicksilver'', ''Teen Talk'' and ''Going Strong'' on RTÉ. He later set up his own communications and public relations company.

Early life

Bernard Carr was born and raised in

Clontarf, Dublin Clontarf () is a largely affluent coastal suburb on the Northside of Dublin in the city's Dublin 3 postal district. Historically there were two centres of population, one on the coast towards the city, and the fishing village of Clontarf Sheds, ...

.Mr. Charm School
IrishTimes.com; accessed 2 April 2017. His father, James Carr, was a civil servant who had served in the British Army in India. Bunny later recalled that his father hated his job and unfortunately died before he could retire. Bunny vowed never to be in the same position himself. The Carr family lived in Clontarf and he attended O'Connell School where he was taught through the medium of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

. One of the nuns at school gave him his nickname of "Bunny" on account of the size of his ears. Carr grew up with a love of amateur dramatics.

Career

After leaving school he became a bank clerk for the Bank of Ireland and was eventually posted to

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

"because he spoke Irish". Once he had returned to Dublin, he realised that wanted to change track and successfully auditioned for RTÉ just before it launched in 1962. He later recounted that he had no strong desire to work in television but knew that he "just didn't want to work in the bank". On RTÉ, he hosted such shows as '' Quicksilver'' and ''Going Strong''. In 1964, he won a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

for his television series, ''Teen Talk''. He devised and presented the political interview programme ''The Politicians''. In 1973, Carr founded Carr Communications a public relations and communications training company, the first of its kind in Ireland. The company grew to become one of the largest public relations and executive coaching firms in the country - it trained six of Ireland's Taoisigh (prime ministers). Carr also worked with the Catholic Communications Centre to train priests and nuns on how to make media appearances. Carr was involved with the Gorta organisation in the early 1980s as a public supporter and fundraiser, and rumours circulated that he had absconded with funds. He left RTÉ in the mid 1980s to concentrate on his business and retired in 2004.

Personal life and death

Carr was married to Joan, who he noticed whilst she was climbing onto the roof of the pavilion to retrieve a ball at Sutton Tennis club. They had one son, Alan and two daughters, Carolyn and Philomena. She contracted polio during her pregnancy with Philomena, after having cleaned down Alan who fell into a former cess pit in the back garden. She was confined to an

iron lung An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator (NPV), a mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body, and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space, to stimulate breathing.Shneerson, Dr. John M., Newmarket Genera ...

for the remaining seven months of the pregnancy and afterwards had to use a wheelchair. The couple lived in Sutton, Dublin, before Joan died in 2005, after which Bunny lived alone. He had 11 grandchildren. In 1998 Carr suffered a heart attack and had cancer diagnosed by chance during the treatment. Carr was diagnosed with macular degeneration in 2011 and was registered blind. He died on 19 September 2018, aged 91 in Howth Hill Nursing Home in Dublin. His family requested that donations in his memory be made to a charity supporting sufferers of

Pitt–Hopkins syndrome Pitt–Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by developmental delay, epilepsy, distinctive facial features, and possible intermittent hyperventilation followed by apnea. Pitt-Hopkins syndrome can be marked by intellec ...

References

External links

A discussion of ''Quicksilver''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Bunny 1927 births 2018 deaths Irish game show hosts Irish public relations people Jacob's Award winners RTÉ television presenters Television personalities from Dublin (city)