Lighting the eternal flame Baldwin teen pays tribute to uncle at 9/11 ceremony

      Matthew T. O'Mahony worked on the 105th floor of Tower One at Cantor Fitzgerald. He was the youngest of five siblings who grew up in Centereach, Long Island.
      At 39 years old, the convivial and down-to-earth Johns Hopkins University graduate was a Manhattan nightlife fixture and has been described as the city's "most famous non-celebrity." He had sipped champagne with Mark Messier after the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994 and was a part-owner of the Polo Grounds sports bar.
      O'Mahony's family said Matthew was funny and charming, and made everyone around him feel a little extra special, said Robert. He was also proud of his close-knit Irish family and had a special place in his heart for his nephew and godson Bobby.
      The week of the 2002 memorial services was the start of the school year for Bobby, a freshman at Baldwin Senior High School. He didn't attend class and missed soccer practice on Sept. 11, in order to mourn in lower Manhattan with his family and thousands of others.
On that frigid and breezy day, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's aides approached Bobby and randomly selected the shy but amiable teenager to help light the eternal flame at a special ceremony at Battery Park later that evening. Bobby was one of two youngsters selected.
      He was shocked to say the least.
"He thought it was a joke," Robert O'Mahony said.
      In the morning, he had been just one of many devastated family members to attend the day's services, but Bobby's role became an integral part of the city's grieving process in a ceremony broadcast around the world.
      "It made my mom feel good," said Robert O'Mahony. "Bobby is her only grandson and Matt was her baby."
      Bobby said he wasn't daunted by the invitation.
      "I wasn't nervous," Bobby said. He said he saw it as a way of honoring his uncle's memory.
      Bobby took the stage with Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and retired fireman John Vigiano, who lost two sons and personally knew over 200 firefighters killed in the tragedy. Bobby brought one of two torches up to the platform and presented it to Vigiano.
      "I got a kick out of meeting the mayor," Bobby said. "I called my friends from the train to tell them."
      At school the next day, Bobby was something of a minor celebrity. "My social studies teacher saw me and said it was nice," Bobby said.
      Bobby's mother, Maryann, said that afterwards, the family received a number of letters and phone calls from friends and relatives around the country who had seen Bobby at the service.
      But for the O'Mahony family, the ceremony was not about being on television but about honoring Matthew.
      "We saw it as a signal for my brother and felt that his spirit was with us," Robert said.