SELFLESSNESS sometimes goes unrecognised, but the actions of former Bathurst man Mark Crennan have been included in a newly released book.
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Gotta Love This Country!, by well-known journalist, author and sportsman Peter FitzSimons, includes a short story featuring Mr Crennan.
Released in December 2015, the book features inspiring stories from sporting ovals across the country, many of which were printed in the weekly The Fitz Files in The Sydney Morning Herald.
On page 69, a story called Team Effort details how Mr Crennan, who at the time was a player with the first grade Sydney Uni Hockey Club, helped out a mate in his time of need.
That friend and team-mate was Irish-born Chris Pelow, who had been diagnosed with a rare, vicious cancer in his foot that meant his lower leg had to be amputated.
With the help of the first grade coach Chris Moylan, Mr Crennan organised to fly Mr Pelow’s parents from Ireland to Sydney and booked them accommodation.
When Mr FitzSimons was in Bathurst recently, Mr Crennan’s father Paul and his partner Kathy Woolley took the opportunity for the author to sign their copy of the book.
Paul said he was not sure how Mr FitzSimons heard about Mark, but the inclusion of his son’s story in the book made him feel very proud.
“Somehow or other Peter found out the way the hockey club banded around the player [Chris Pelow] and his family,” he said.
“How uplifting it feels to be in a community that spontaneously helps another person in a crisis without the thought of recognition, then when the good deed is discovered, it is celebrated.”
When he lived in Bathurst, Mark was a St Stanislaus’ College student, and also played for St Pat’s Hockey Club. He now lives in London.
