Mark was a good hearted guy who had a paper round until the shop owner gave him a hard time.
He didn’t like that woman.
He was a former amateur at Abbey boxing club, a street fighter, and a solid friend.
He was socially intelligent and had a natural charisma and charm.
His reputation preceeded him and those who had only heard stories found themselves charmed by him despite their expectations.
Mark was the sort of guy who looked after his friends.
The sort of guy who knew how to compensate for his friends weaknesses without mentioning it.
He always stuck up for his friends and was sincere in wanting the best for them.
Not afraid to say what he thought but conscious not to criticise.
The kind of guy who would tell you the hard truth and demanded it in return
Not afraid to say what he thought but conscious not to criticize. He didn’t need you to agree with him.
He was funny and had a great laugh.
He loved winding his friends up and then cracking up laughing if he managed to annoy them.
He always stood up straight with his head held high.
Wide stance and open arms.
Almost always a mischievous grin on his face and always with funny stories to tell of his latest adventures.
He was relentless in dragging his friends out of their houses to hang out.
Making “reverse charges” calls from pay phones to all the landline numbers he could remember.
If you said no he’d persuade you and then if you still said no he’d pretend to give up, make some small talk and then persuade you some more until he exhausted you.
If you agreed to walk to end of the road with him, you never knew where’d you’d end up.
He was a proud man who demanded to be treated with respect and who got it and who deserved it.
He made sure to return respect as well. He showed respect to his friends and their families too and and was a polite guest in any home he was invited into.
Parents including my own who initially thought of him as a “bad influence” (a term Mark thought was hilarious) couldn’t help but like him.
The kids who were a few years older than him respected him too, such was the way he carried himself.
He was a man with limitless energy – always wanting to go find the next adventure.
And he had a natural resistance to any kind of restriction being placed on himself by other mere mortals.
So naturally a few windows got broken along the way.
Mark was built tough.
In another life he might have won medals as a soldier on the battlefield or become a great explorer or a champion athlete.. but in this life what he was was just as impressive.
He feared no man. It didn’t matter how big a guy might be or how many of them there were… Mark would engage without hesitation and he would fight to win.
He would never hesitate in the moments where other men would.
If you were in a battle in WW2 Mark’s the guy you’d want standing beside you.
I saw him box once in the Crawfordsburn Lodge.
His style was aggressive, straight at his opponent, slipping inside with fast footwork, bobbing and weaving and throwing fast combinations.
He fought like Mike Tyson.
He also fought outside the ring when he decided he had to.
I saw him fight and win against a grown man when he was 15.
I saw him take on 3 6’4 “meatheads” for pushing in front of him at a bar. I saw him knock an attacker out with a single left hook.
When he was warned that someone with a reputation had threatened him his response was “Who says he’s so tough?”
As far as he was concerned he could match any man.
When he felt fear he always choose to fight instead of running because he had character.
When a man get’s slighted he has a choice to make.
Do nothing to avoid a scene and die a little inside or, keep your self respect and risk injury, societal disapproval and legal jeopardy.
Mark chose to keep his self respect.
He knew that one act of cowardice leads to another and he refused to go down that path.
So Mark backed himself and always stood his ground and in the process earned the respect of many men, friend and foe alike.
When he felt he had to fight he committed fully and fought bravely.
When you watch a man fight you see who he is,
Mark was a guy who would fight to the end.
A man picks up as much as he can carry and so Mark picked up alot.
Through hard times Mark always faced his life like a man – he never whined or played the victim,
he was stoic and he had the self depricative ability to laugh at his own circumstances.
He had a true and sincere heart and he faced the world bravely.
Mark’s approach to life was an expression of his sincerity.
If you treated him well, he would be an excellent friend. If you treated him badly he would communicate that to you very directly.
That’s what an honest man is.
It’s a man who’s brave enough trust his own interpretation of the world and not betray himself under pressure.
Mark had the balls to stand out and say this is how I am and this is how I see it and If you’ve got a problem with me I’m ready anytime.
It’s the bargain of a man who prioritises his principles over comfort.
If you were foolish enough to treat him like you were better than him, it was a mistake you wouldn’t repeat.
He had a code: Take care of your friends and “your family is all you’ve got.”
In terms of resilience, bravery, toughness & strength of character, I have not met another man who measures up to Mark Bracewell.
To his family, He brought honour to your family name and represented you well.
He valued and respected you and he told me once that “family is family you never go against your family.”
He was born strong and became a strong man,
he had the love of many women, was loved by his family, was respected by his friends and enemies,
he had many adventures, fathered children, won many fights and packed more into his days than most who live twice as long.
He was by every measure that matters a successful man who lived a successful life.
He was an asset to everyone lucky enough to be his friend.
In a world full of weak men we need more men like Mark Bracewell.
We should all try to be a bit more like him.
He was an exceptional friend and an exceptional person. He helped me many times and in many ways.
And so I write this letter of respect about a man who truly earned it.
I am diminished by his absence yet still improved overall for having spent time with him.
I look forward seeing you in the next place mate.
– Jonny