Rolls Royces, a gold coffin, and incredible flower displays as hundreds say farewell to man known as ‘Big Daddy’

Hundreds of people travelled to Cardiff from across the UK and Ireland to remember one of the city’s most renowned travellers. His friends, family and wider community, were left devastated last month when James Coffey – known fondly as Jim or as “Big Daddy” because being called “granddad” made him feel old – died on March 21 after being diagnosed with cancer which had spread to his brain.

Jim’s life was commemorated with floral tributes marking his favourite things, including a packet of cigarettes, a pint of his beloved John Smith’s and his lucky lottery numbers. The tributes were laid at Western Cemetery in Ely which was attended by so many friends and relatives South Wales Police had warned the public of disruption to travel across the city on Monday, April 8. One of the tributes was an image of a stairway to heaven and depictions of Jim in the clouds with his late wife Agnes and their 14-year-old daughter Helen, who died suddenly in an accident in 2006.

Jim, who had 23 grandchildren, was born in Birmingham but spent much of his childhood travelling before his family settled at Leckwith Common in Cardiff. Until 1998 he was still travelling regularly, but then did so less frequently because of increased restrictions for travellers. He permanently lived on a yard at Wentloog Road in the city which consists of some strikingly brilliant prefab-like homes, none more so than Jim’s which has statues of lions on the large drive and is known as “the chalet”.

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The funeral service, conducted by Rev Dr Sebastian Jones at St Alban on the Moors in Splott, which Jim was connected to for decades and where he married Agnes a year after they met at the Philharmonic pub in 1976, was followed by a celebration of his life at the cemetery. He is now sharing the plot with Agnes, or “Big Mommy”, who was considered the matriarch of the huge Coffey family until she died in 2022.

Traditional Irish songs were sung while a big screen showed Jim alongside his family and friends. Jim, who was 68, was known for his work ethic and his dedication to his family, as well as his passion for his Irish heritage. Some male mourners wore navy jumpers which read “G Davies Paving”. Jim owned the paving company after buying the name randomly online, despite having no connection with him. They also wore green and white Irish scarves which they threw on the coffin after it had been lowered.

Four Green Fields by Brian Roebuck, Every Beat of My Heart by Rod Stewart, Grandpa (Tell me ‘Bout the Good Old Days) by The Judds, Now You Belong to Heaven by Mari Olsen Onsoien, and I Did My Part by Randy Travis were played throughout the day. Jim’s coffin, which was surrounded by pictures of him with his family and read “Our Daddy, one of a kind”, was carried out of the church and into one of nine Rolls Royce vehicles decorated in Irish flags to My Way by Frank Sinatra.

Jim’s daughter Bridget said: “My father was the sort of man who wouldn’t let anything drag him down. If he had pain he wouldn’t go to the doctor. He would say the best cure is a can of John Smith’s or a can of Guinness. Every night after work he would sit at his table, smoke his cigarette and drink ten cans of John Smith’s. At midnight he’d have his dinner that Agnes made him. Then he’d be up bright and early to leave for work at 7am.”

Jim was devastated by his wife’s death from cancer in 2022 but Bridget said continuing to work as a groundworker and setting an example for his sons and grandsons was important to him. At Christmas 2022, Jim was diagnosed with cancer which had spread to several parts of his body. Three weeks after a major operation he had an appointment at the Velindre Cancer Centre where his doctor told him he had six months to live at most, saying: “We’d advise you not to have chemotherapy, but if you want it, we’ll give it to you.” Jim’s response was: “Let’s give it a go.”

Bridget said he “sailed” through the treatment and would go straight from a round of chemo to a shift of groundworking. “My father carried on his normal working from 7am until 9pm. Even in winter he’d be back home at about 8.30pm. He loved to be busy and he had the strongest willpower I’ve ever known. The doctors and nurses were amazed by him. After seven months, the doctor asked him how he was and he cracked a joke: ‘I’ve passed my six-month MOT.'”

He died on March 21, more than 14 months after his terminal diagnosis. He was still working two weeks before he died, and still enjoying Guinness, Baileys and cards with his family two days before he died. “He fought to the very end,” said Bridget. “He was like a role model to his family, a legacy who built a better life for his children.”

Scroll through the gallery for the best pictures from Jim’s send off.