The opera lover, the Jesuit, the GAA star … 19 of the lives lost by Covid-19

Before they died, they lived. IRISH TIME CHRONICLES THE RICH AND COMPLETE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED FROM COVID-19. READ MORE AT IRISHTIMES.COM/LIVESLOST. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION, EMAIL [email protected]

Patricia Kelly

Opera lover, 1937-2020

“Glamorous,” this is how Patricia Kelly’s daughter-in-law, Brenda Kelly, describes her deceased mother-in-law. “One of the last things he was talking about was what he would wear for his granddaughter’s wedding later this year. She was always so fun and full of energy. “

Patricia O’Connor was born on February 28, 1937 in Dublin. As a child, she was involved with the Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society and developed a lifelong love for music and opera. He worked at the bank and moved to Ballinasloe, Co Galway. When there, she met her husband Dermot, a consultant at the Portiuncula Hospital. They were married in 1961 and had four children and 10 grandchildren.

He focused on raising his family and started playing golf for pleasure. She was for a time the captain of the Ballinasloe Golf Club, and also played bridge.

“Honest and frank”, Patricia valued the qualities of sincerity, determination and decency.

When her husband died in 2013, she made a conscious decision to continue making the most of life. She joined an active retirement group and “made as many new friends” as her daughter-in-law says. “I could hardly catch her, because she was away every day, between bridge and golf and water aerobics.”

She was a techie enthusiast and used a Kindle, joking with her family that everyone was so behind on their books. He broadcast all the operas he could find; Madame Butterfly was a particular favorite.

Patricia was still living at home, in excellent health, and had just bought a new Ford Fiesta before entering the hospital on March 25 with a suspected kidney infection. She died on March 31, at the Portiuncula Hospital. She had been buried before her family was told that her family was Covid-19’s 120th death in Ireland. She was 83 years old. Rosita Boland

Father James Hurley

Jesuit priest, 1926-2020

Fr James Hurley was immensely proud that his birthday was China National Day on October 1. The Jesuit priest, known in his community as Jimmy but as James to his family, had spent 58 years of his life in Hong Kong before returning to live in Ireland in 2014.

“He started working with high school students in 1962 and became closely involved in the student movement there,” says his nephew Dick Lincoln.

He was also a founding member of Amnesty International in Hong Kong.

The youngest of four children, two boys and two girls, was born in Ardmore, Co Waterford, in 1926. As a boy, he spent a lot of time in church activities and attending mass.

He dealt with the Cistercians at Mount Mellory from 1939 to 1944 and obtained a university scholarship, but chose to join the Jesuits. James studied classics at UCD and later philosophy at the Jesuit Institute.

His first two years in Hong Kong were spent learning Cantonese and teaching at a Jesuit high school in Kowloon. Wanting to experience life as an ordinary worker, he landed a job at a textile factory where he cut fabric incessantly for what he described in an interview as four stunning months.

Returning to Dublin for three years to study theology, he was ordained in 1958 before returning to Hong Kong.

His nephew says of him: “He was a rebel and was involved with the revolutionaries, but he was the most obedient man regarding his votes and poverty and gave everything away.”

“When I returned home during the 1980s, I used to visit Long Kesh and say mass,” and Belfast was always a port of call for James, a committed nationalist.

In Hong Kong, he used to visit prisoners, including members of the triad, and in the case of a man convicted of murder, he supported the family to ensure that their children were educated.

Upon his return to Dublin in 2014, he acted as pastor of the Cantonese-speaking Chinese and received a steady stream of visitors from Hong Kong.

In November 2019, he broke his ankle. He was slowly recovering at the Cherryfield Nursing Home in Dublin when he hired Covid-19.

His nephew remembers that the day before his death he was fine and “we were discussing the 2004 Cork-Waterford Munster final.” He died on Easter Monday, April 13, at the age of 93. Marie O’Halloran

Joseph (Joe) Jennings

GAA star, 1935-2020

Joe Jennings was proud of the All-Ireland minor medal he won with May in 1953 and the cup he got from the Ballinrobe GAA club. He was also proud to earn the highest grade in Ireland for geography the year he obtained his Certificate of Exit.

Born in Rahard, Ballinrobe on May 13, 1935, he was the tenth of 13 children. “He wanted to join the army but suffered a knee injury, so he went to the UK and met my mother Margo, a Dungarvan nurse practitioner,” says her daughter Rhoda.

Joe and Margo were married in September 1960. “He trained to be an accountant but always wanted to be his own boss and in 1967 he and my mother took over a pub and became the owner of The George in Witham, Essex” .

They returned to Ireland in 1981 and opened the Kenilworth Nursing Home in Rathgar, which they managed until their retirement, when they moved to nearby Rathmines.

“When he was no longer able to play GAA, he started playing golf and met his friends and loved his garden.”

He became Margo’s caregiver when she developed dementia and he cared for her until he had to go to the hospital.

He had a bypass four years ago when he was 80 years old, never fully recovered, and went to St. James Hospital in early February for treatment for his slowly failing heart. Someone in the room was diagnosed with Covid-19. He also tested positive on March 27.

He died on April 9 and along with his medal and cup from all over Ireland, photos and flowers from his garden were placed in his coffin. “I was always waiting for Mayo to win the All-Ireland, but he will be watching it from somewhere.” – Marie O’Halloran

Florence Wylie

Business woman, 1940-2020

Florence Wylie was born Florence Mills on December 23, 1940 in Ballybay, Co Monaghan. She was one of 11 children and grew up on a farm.

As a child she went to work in England for some years; in wool and fabric stores. He had known cattle dealer Nelson Wylie before traveling to England, and they continued to correspond by letter the entire time he was there.

The couple married and settled in Castleblayney. They had two children and, subsequently, two grandchildren. In 1964, he established a curtain store on the city’s main street, which is still remembered today. “It was one of those drapery shops that sold everything from bras to buttons to zippers,” recalls her daughter Helen. “People bought their debs dresses there.”

As her daughter remembers, the entire city knew that the friendly woman behind the curtains could be called in a locker room emergency. When she and her sister returned home from college one weekend, there was a knock on the door and they handed her mother a box of chocolates.

“It was from a girl who had called the house the week before on her way to the nightclub. She had ripped her stockings and my mother got her another pair. That was all of her; she was a very kind person. “

Her husband died in 2000. In 2004, she decided to close her store. “What I missed the most from leaving the store was talking to people; she was a very social being. “

In 2018 she moved to Drumbear Lodge Nursing Home in Monaghan. “She loved the nursing home and walked all over the place like a social butterfly, talking to everyone.”

On April 10, she developed respiratory problems and later called her daughters. Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Florence Wylie was dead. His family did not know that he had died of Covid-19 until after his death. She was 79 years old. Rosita Boland

Harry O’Callaghan

Emigrant, 1946-2020

Harry O’Callaghan had always dreamed of owning a home in France. Last year he finally signed the documents at his own vacation home in France, just months before Covid-19 died at the age of 75.

Born on January 9, 1946, the son of Jim and Bridie O’Clalaghan, Harry had a sister, Noreen, and three brothers: Don, Jim, and Seanie. Parked in Cork with the Defense Forces, his father traveled home to Fermoy every weekend.

At school, Harry’s “effortless intelligence” was the envy of his class, according to fellow student and brother-in-law Billy Meaney. He attended elementary school at Barrack Hill in Fermoy, and went on to CBS high school. He was an altar boy, a field runner, and a member of the Fermoy Confraternity Brass and Reed Band.

After completing his Certificate of Departure, he emigrated to England in the 1960s. Harry began his working life at the Savoy Hotel, before embarking on a career in office procedures at IBM. He then became a manager at Shell, where he met his wife Francis in 1982. They married in 1985.

The couple had three daughters, Kate, Lucy, and Polly. Later he became the grandfather of Hugo and Xanthe.

Although he chose to make a life for his own young family in London, Harry returned to Ireland for all the great family occasions, always with his sister Noreen. His flashy cars arriving in Fermoy were a topic of conversation for the city.

2020 marked 30 years of sobriety for Harry, which he was very proud of, according to his family. In recent years, he has volunteered on the AA helpline, and has been described as a “stalwart of service.”

On March 18, she developed symptoms of Covid-19. Ten days later, he was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and died on April 6. – Ciara Kenny

Francis Musgrave

Ballroom dancer, 1920-2020

“He spent his entire life in Dublin,” says Eamon Musgrave of his father, Francis. He grew up in Phibsborough, and then spent the rest of his life near Navan Road.

At 16, he went to work for CIÉ as a coach for coaches. He spent his entire working life there. “He was a great worker. I worked six days a week and did overtime on Saturdays. “

In 1956, he married Elizabeth Fay. They had two children and seven grandchildren.

Francis never learned to drive, as he spent his entire life on the free ride that came as part of his job. While wearing overalls every day for work, in his spare time, he always wore a tie and a suit jacket, “even if he had just taken the bus to go to town.” When he was not on a bus, he was on his bicycle. Non-smoker, he liked to keep fit.

Along with Elizabeth, they dressed at night and danced in the National Hall. The two went to “all the horses are around Dublin”. The Curragh, Fairyhouse, Leopardstown. They traveled to the Isle of Man several times, but no more, they preferred to return home.

“He valued old-fashioned honesty. He was a man of faith, who never missed mass on Sundays. “

When Francis’s wife died in 1998, and then his son in 1999, he received great support from family and friends who lived near him on Navan Road, especially his niece, Helen Finn. He still went to the betting houses, eventually learned to cook a chicken, and loved to watch all kinds of sports on television: racing, billiards, soccer.

He moved to Elm Green Nursing Home two years ago, where he continued to wear a tie every day. He died on March 29, two days before his Covid-19 test came back positive. Francis Musgrave would have turned 100 this November. – Rosita Boland

Brigid Sreenan

Farm girl, 1931-2020

“She always said that she was never happier than when she was helping her father in the swamp as a child,” recalls Dermot Sreenan of his mother, who was born Brigid Fallon on May 27, 1931, in the city of Greenhall, Co Longford. .

His family were small farmers. “She was from that generation that had nothing,” he says. “It was in the days when the children inherited everything; the whole earth, and she was bitter about it, I know. He wanted to stay on the farm, but he couldn’t. “

Brigid left school shortly after the age of 12. She was sent to work with an aunt at a hotel in Moate, Co Westmeath. “It was slavery by contract. Cleaning rooms without pay, he got money to go to the movies and that was it. “

After two years, during which he had not once been home to see his parents, Brigid returned to his vacation and decided not to return to Moate. He first worked in a bar and supermarket in Sligo and then on a series of golf clubs in the east of the country. When he worked at Baltray in Co Louth, he met James Sreenan, who worked at the local post office.

They were married in 1966 and when he was promoted they moved to Cavan. They had two children and, subsequently, three grandchildren.

“My mother always used to fight in her corner. That came from his experience with aunt. She said, “Don’t let people push you.” She would not tolerate people trying to talk, and she would not tolerate bullies. She was very independent. “

When her husband died in 2004, Sreenan “made the most of her new independence” and traveled to spend time with other family members in the United States and the United Kingdom.

In January of this year, Sreenan moved into Craddock House Nursing Home in Naas, Co Kildare, where he had established himself well. She already had a good friend there and the two used to joke about arranging a “getaway” once visitation restrictions came into effect.

Sreenan hired Covid-19 in March and died on Easter Sunday. She was 88 years old. Rosita Boland

Thomas meade

Official, 1931-2020.

Thomas Meade’s devotion to his wife Maureen was such that when it became apparent that he would need care in a nursing home, he decided that they would move into one together in Loughshinny, near his home in Rush, Co Dublin.

After 63 years of marriage, they moved in December 2019, and he joined the choir there in an effort to establish himself. Before long, they were both engaged in activities like bingo and arts and crafts, and he was looking forward to spring, being in the garden, and perhaps going to local beaches.

He was taken to Beaumont Hospital on April 7, diagnosed with coronavirus the next day, and, movingly by a man of great faith and love for Easter, he died on Good Friday.

Born in Dublin on October 22, 1931, Thomas Meade was the youngest of seven children, with five sisters, one of whom died in childhood, and a brother, Maurice. All his brothers precede him.

He grew up alongside Croke Park, winning a scholarship to O’Connell High School. He excelled in Civil Service exams and became an official in the Department of Health. There he met Maureen Sheehan, who, at age 17, had just moved to Dublin from Macroom, Co Cork.

Both worked in the General Registry Office, but she had to leave the Civil Service when they married in 1956. She retired in 1988 as secretary general.

A man of many interests, he loved sports, especially GAA and Dubs, as well as horse racing, a love he shared with his son Maurice. Throughout his career he worked part-time on the “tote” and continued until he was 77.

He also enjoyed family vacations, movies, current affairs, reading, walking, and discussion.

“Dad instilled in us a strong sense of public service and several of his sons followed in his footsteps,” say his daughters Maria and Madeline. – Marie O’Halloran

Teresa Kelly

“A Simple Life”, 1930-2020

“She was genuine, selfless, and loving,” says Gabriel Kelly of his late mother, Teresa Kelly. She was born Teresa Smith on October 9, 1930, in Tullybrick, Co Cavan.

At age 16 she went first to Newcastle in Northern Ireland and then to Belfast, where she worked as a housekeeper and cook. While in Belfast she met Patrick Kelly, painter and decorator. They were married in 1962, they had three children and later three grandchildren.

In 1968 they returned home and settled there. Unusually for that time she inherited the farm, being an only daughter.

Teresa did not work outside the home after having her children. “Like a typical Irish mother, she made sacrifices for everyone,” says Gabriel Kelly. She was interested in history, current affairs, and politics, and the subsequent elections and positions were a particular joy. However, his family was his central focus. “Everything revolved around his family.”

The highlight of his life, and one of the few times he left the country, was a meeting with Pope John Paul II in Italy in 1989, on the occasion that Gabriel was ordained a deacon. “She led a very simple life,” says Gabriel. “What he valued most in people was honesty and that they were down to earth.”

Patrick Kelly died in 2013. After a fall in 2017, Teresa moved to the Oak View nursing home in Belturbet, Co Cavan. From March 25 to April 3, she was at Cavan General Hospital, where Gabriel, a hospital chaplain, could see her daily.

On April 3, Teresa Kelly was readmitted to Oak View Nursing Home. He died the following day on April 4 before his Covid-19 test came back positive. She was 89 years old. Rosita Boland

Elizabeth Morris

“Bad mood”, 1929-2020

Elizabeth Morris was the cornerstone of her family and set the tone for everything at her home on Cloiginn Road in Dublin’s Ballyfermot.

A widow in 1970 at the age of 39 with 12 children between the ages of 18 and two, she had grown up in a military family. Also known as Betty, she was born on October 9, 1929 in what is now Cathal Brugha’s headquarters.

He worked in a laundromat and did invisible repairs on expensive shirts, a skill he passed on to his children and some grandchildren.

In 1949 she met the postman Tom Morris at a 21st birthday party and they were married the following year. They settled in Ballyfermot, where they had seven boys and five girls: Patrick, Maria, Thomas, Caroline, Jacqueline, Imelda, Sean, Noel, Gregory, Richard, Denis, and Priscilla. Her oldest son Francis was born dead.

In praise of her funeral mass, her daughter Jacqueline described her home as “a busy house filled with fun, games, cooking smells, rows, and makeup concerts on the landing.”

But everything changed when her dad died of a heart attack. Money was tight and Elizabeth worked many jobs to supplement her income. His last job before retirement was on the general staff of Senior College Ballyfermot.

All of her children had chores and their standards were high. “The shoes had to be polished, the shirts tucked in, the homework complete,” and everyone had to get up early for mass.

She was a great cook and baker, but in her later years “she loved junk food, curries, fish fries, cream pies, and most of all, good frying,” says Jacqueline. And he had a “wicked” sense of humor, along with the most infectious laugh.

She loved music, ballet, and was a great reader, knowledgeable about current affairs, celebrity gossip, sports, and politics, and loved traveling around Europe with family.

She spent the last 11 months of her life at Marymount Care Center in Lucan, where she especially loved having breakfast in bed, her knitting class, and having a voice at resident meetings.

Elizabeth was diagnosed with Covid-19 on April 4 and died at Easter on Wednesday, April 8, at age 90. Marie O’Halloran

James Hynes

“Jim for a time”, 1940-2020

He was christened James Hynes, but his nickname was “Jim for a time,” explains his daughter Caitriona Hynes. A lifelong defender of the GAA, and a man who devoted much of his time to coaching youth teams, he was nicknamed his gentle and discreet method of handling players who were not doing their best on the field.

“He would never criticize their performance or say they were having a bad day. He just said, ‘Oh, I’ll take you for a while,’ even though they would inevitably be out for the rest of the game. He was kind to everyone. The weaker player received the same treatment as the strongest player. “

James Hynes was born near Claremorris, Co Mayo, on October 12, 1940; One of seven children. He worked as a panel beater and spray painter for a garage in Claremorris, before moving to Cork City to continue in this line of work. He married Mary Slattery, and they had five children and 11 grandchildren. The family settled in Bishopstown in Cork.

He worked in the city and did cycling home every day for his dinner. In 1981, he left the motor industry and became a general operator at Eli Lilly in Kinsale, a pharmaceutical company.

He stayed close to his Mayo roots, regularly visiting family there, and always supported Mayo at GAA games. A great DIY practitioner, he was always helping with the jobs his family needed to do; doing carpentry, putting lights. “He was a kind, loving and caring man. He was always doing things for us. All his tools are still in the garage.

James Hynes went to Cork University Hospital on March 29 and died of Covid-19 two days later. – Rosita Boland

Alice Kennedy

Activist, 1937-2020

Alice Kennedy’s skills as an organizer shone through her work with the Irish Council of Elders Network in London and her establishment of the Irish Elders Choir, which performed at the Royal Albert Hall.

“There was no such thing as could not be done,” says his brother Séamus Culleton of his bubbly and decisive personality.

Born in Clonaslee, Co Laois, she was born on March 2, 1937, to William Culleton, a Land Commission worker, and his wife, Mary Tobin. She was the fourth youngest in a family of 12.

He moved to London in 1962, at age 25, and always lived in the city of Kent, working first at Woolworth’s and then for 39 years for John Lewis department store, becoming manager in charge of product complaints and returns.

With her retirement and the premature death 10 years ago of her husband Frank, she turned to community activism and was one of the main groups that established the advisory network, a support group.

“Many people had nothing in London. Some were homeless and she was involved in getting many back on the road and some back to their home in Ireland, ”says her brother. “They also organized tea parties, social dances and bingo, brought people together and kept it going.”

From the moment he went to London, he always sent money to his parents. Alice had a great relationship with all of her siblings and “brought us all together,” says Séamus Culleton.

He also led the Tara Pensioners group from one floor of the 17th floor tower in Kentish Town. His organizing skills became the establishment of the Irish Elders’ Choir, maintaining the Irish songs of his generation. He toured many Irish centers in England and performed with Foster and Allen at the Royal Albert Hall.

Always active and busy, she was described as a “stalwart” of the London-Irish community by the Irish Ambassador to the UK Adrian O’Neill, and “Ireland’s noblest daughter” by President Michael D Higgins.

Alice was admitted to the hospital on March 25 for showing flu-like symptoms and died a week later, a priest by her side since none of her family could be with her. – Marie O’Halloran

John McGroddy

Golfer, 1938-2020

John McGroddy and his wife Nell were at the Tara Winthrop Nursing Home in Swords, Co Dublin, when they contracted Covid-19 a few days apart.

While Nell is recovering from the virus, John, named Johnny for his family, died on March 29. The couple was together for more than half a century.

The funeral was a creepy experience, without hugging or comforting each other and being separated in the parking lot. “And it was very difficult that we could not celebrate his life”, the life of the retired garda, a cornerstone of the community.

Golf was a big part of his life. He was born in Carrickart, in the northwest of Donegal, near the famous Rosapenna links course and “used to say that he grew caddies for the nobility”. He had three brothers and four sisters.

Johnny worked in Scotland as a carpenter before being accepted as a garda apprentice in the early 1960s.

He was one of six recruits sent to Swords, where he and the other five Gardai each built their own house on land on Brackenstown Road.

Garda until 1986, opened a lumber and hardware store in Swords called Big J, a successful business that he ran for about 14 years until an economic slump fell and the store closed.

Throughout his working life and until his retirement, Johnny continued to be passionate about golf, with a disadvantage of six or seven. He joined Donabate Golf Club and served as captain in 2007.

He entered the nursing home three years ago when he was becoming less mobile and his wife was struggling to care for him. Nell moved there a year ago to be with him.

In the end “everything suddenly fell apart. In three or four days we were told that he was getting worse and the next thing was that he left.” Johnny is survived by Nell, her children Dominic, Una, Kate, Jake and Seán, her brothers Winnie , Michael and Bernadette and 10 grandchildren – Marie O’Halloran

Betty hart

“Excellent Weaver”, 1931-2020

She was baptized Kathleen Elizabeth Ryan on June 19, 1931 in Cobh, Co Cork, but was always known as Betty. The family moved to Clonakilty when she was 11 years old, and that’s where she spent the rest of her life.

She married Patrick Hart in 1955, and had to quit her job at the Department of Agriculture due to the marriage ban. They had seven children and 20 grandchildren. Upon his grandmother’s death, his father inherited a grocery store in the city, and Hart took over the running. Her youngest son was then one year old.

“He ran it until 1989, and then we moved it to a wool store,” says his daughter, Maria Hennessy. “She was an excellent weaver. Even until the day of her death, she wore the Fair Isle hats that she made herself. “

An “energy ball,” he walked regularly, rode a bike, and still swam at the local leisure center until last year.

Before her husband’s death in 2006, the two made many trips abroad in their car. Su tarea, antes de Google Maps y navegación por satélite, era como navegante, y siempre tenía su investigación hecha y sus listas de ciudades todas hechas antes de que partieran. Condujeron a Francia, Alemania, Suiza, Inglaterra y Escocia.

“Ella siempre dijo que sus 60 años fueron la mejor década de su vida. Le encantaba divertirse y hablar con la gente. Ella conocía a todos por estar en la tienda, y todos la conocían. Le decía a la gente: “Te ves preciosa hoy”. Le encantaba la ropa, y siempre admiraba a las personas y su estilo.

La tienda de lana cerró cuando ella se acercaba a los 70 años y decidió retirarse. Otra hija, Aileen, se hizo cargo del local como cafetería. “Solía ​​llamar a la cafetería todas las mañanas para tomar café y bollos; ella era una institución en Clonakilty “.

Su hija María la describe como “resistente”; una resistencia que se hizo aún más pronunciada cuando Hart fue diagnosticado con demencia hace seis años.

Entró en el Clonakility Community Hospital en enero de este año. Ella dio positivo por Covid-19 el 11 de abril y murió allí el 21 de abril. Ella tenía 88 años. Rosita Boland

John Deffew

Atleta, 1945-2020

La amada hija de John Deffew, Eileen, murió de cáncer a la edad de 39 años, solo ocho semanas antes de su propia muerte el 18 de abril.

“Ella era la niña de los ojos de mi padre. La adoraba por completo ”, dice su hermana Frances. Eileen tenía síndrome del ojo de gato, un trastorno genético raro.

John estaba en el hogar de ancianos de la comunidad de San Vicente en Mountmellick, Co Laois.

Había estado luchando para manejar en casa con artritis y otras afecciones subyacentes. Un atleta en su juventud, corrió a campo traviesa por Laois y más tarde en la vida siguió los deportes ampliamente y disfrutó de los caballos.

John Leo Deffew was born on November 13th, 1945, in Mountmellick to Brigid and Leo Deffew, and is survived by Frances and his siblings Billy, Andy, Mary, Elizabeth and Nan.

He started his apprenticeship as a butcher at the age of 15 with James Pim and Son in Mountmellick, subsequently working in Portlaoise.

He met his wife Brigid Garrihy while on a holiday in Co Clare, where she is from, and they were married within the year in Lisdoonvarna. They moved to Tullamore where he got a job in the Midlands Butter and Bacon factory, working there for 24 years until the company went into liquidation in 1989.

John and Brigid went their separate ways when Frances was 11. When Frances moved to Dublin aged 18 “he would have come up on the bus to me for day trips”.

She describes her father as a jolly man with wild, curly hair that could never be tamed. “He was a gentle soul, loved his family, loved the chat and the joke, loved the cigarette and a pint, loved to sing. He’d sing after a few pints and he loved the Forty Shades of Green.”

John tested positive for Covid-19 on Easter Monday, April 13th. On Saturday, April 18th, they moved his bed to a window at the back of the nursing home where his daughter could see him, and she spent two hours with him. He died that night at 10pm. – Marie O’Halloran

Bernard King

Garda, 1932-2020

Bernard King started his working life building roads for Mayo County Council. Advised to apply for the guards, he did a correspondence course from Kilroy’s College to prepare for the Garda exam.

A garda in Dublin from 1953-1980, he was promoted and moved to Boyle, Co Roscommon. After a few years, it was back to Dublin, a further promotion and time in Cavan-Monaghan, before finishing his policing career as chief superintendent in Dún Laoghaire, until obligatory retirement on his 60th birthday in 1992.

His granddaughter Maedbh says one his colleagues recalled that if someone brought a problem to him, his response was “You now have half a problem, I have the other half.”

“He was fantastic at making and keeping friends,” his son Tim says. “He had friendships going back to his childhood years and his memory was phenomenal. He remembered every single thing, all his days at school, his dates and times.”

Originally from Breaffy in Co Mayo, he settled in the Blackrock area of Dublin with his wife Marjorie who died at the age of 67 from Alzheimer’s disease. The couple had three children: Tim; Kate who lives in the US; and Bryan; and there are 10 grandchildren.

For the next 20 years he was “involved in almost every aspect of community life, from his volunteer work in Foxrock parish and active retirement to bowling and dancing classes with friends,” says Maedbh.

He had a regular Tuesday night get-together in the Grange pub with his sons and brother-in-law and “he spent many happy days cycling in Wicklow and he loved to go fishing on the lakes of Lough Conn and Lough Mask in his beloved west of Ireland”.

His death was unexpected after he was admitted to St Vincent’s hospital for foot surgery. A test later confirmed he had Covid-19. Up to a few hours before his death he seemed to be holding his own but then slipped away, aged 87. – Marie O’Halloran

Marie Keown

Artist and singer, 1935-2020

Marie Keown (nee Kelly) was born in Arklow, Co Wicklow on August 1st, 1935, the eldest of three daughters. Her parents Kathleen and John brought the family up at Connelly Street in the town centre.

Keown was educated at St Mary’s College Arklow, and it was there that she developed a love of singing and art. She took part in local song contests as a girl and on leaving school became a decorative artist at Arklow Pottery.

Marie and her closest friend, Betty Cranny, left Arklow in the late 1950s for the bright lights and excitement of London. She furthered her education through evening classes and worked her way up to become a librarian at the British Library in the mid-1960s. She used to tell a story of how she served a young Prince Charles in the famous round reading room at the library. He used a pseudonym, “Mr Woods”, she recalled.

She met Eamonn Keown in 1965 through a social event at Corpus Christi church in Brixton, which then had a large Irish community. So began a 50-year love affair. They married in 1968 at the church in Arklow.

The couple had three children, Gerard, Paul and Edwina. Bedrooms were painted with murals, and Keown’s oil and watercolour paintings adorned the walls.

Summers were spent in Co Wicklow and Co Fermanagh and, in 2008, the couple celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a family trip to Rome and renewed their vows at a ceremony in the Irish College.

“By the time my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary together, dementia had entered our lives,” says Gerard. Marie slowly succumbed to this silent disease as she approached her 80th year, and Eamonn decided it was time to return to Ireland. He had dreamt of returning to Co Fermanagh, but his wife’s illness made this impractical, and they opted instead to move to Maynooth in Co Kildare.

Keown spent her final years in the care of the staff at Maynooth Community Care Unit. She passed away peacefully there on April 17th having contracted Covid-19. Marie Keown was buried at a family plot in Cashel near Garrison in Co Fermanagh. – Rodney Edwards

Sheila Geoghegan

Air hostess, 1941-2020

Sheila Geoghegan’s early career as one of Aer Lingus’s first air hostesses in the 1960s brought together three of her great loves: travel, music, and meeting people.

The second-youngest of six children, she was born in Warrenpoint, Co Down on April 22nd, 1941. Sheila trained as a library assistant, before travelling to London to work as a personal secretary to a blind barrister in a legal firm.

In the early 1960s, she returned to Dublin to join Aer Lingus as one of their first air hostesses. She flew back and forth to European destinations, before graduating to the transatlantic crew. She loved going to concerts and shows on Broadway while in New York. She was part of the cabin crew when The Dubliners went on their first tour to Germany.

At Dublin Airport, she met Michael Geoghegan, who was working for Aer Lingus as a purchasing manager (later for Aer Rianta International, where he helped open many Duty-Free shops around the world). They married at the Church of St Mary on Haddington Road in 1965. They had three children, Niall, Barry and Conor, and lived in Clontarf, Raheny and Malahide.

After her youngest son was born, Sheila left Aer Lingus to spend time at home with her family. She returned to work years later after her sons had moved out, as a library assistant at Trinity College.

“Growing up, she was our moral compass,” says her son Niall. “She was a big fan of music, and introduced us to many great musical artists through her records. She used to quote poems her father had taught her. She was very knowledgeable about the great painters from all over the world.”

Through her sons’ love of football, she became a great fan of the game herself, following Liverpool, Arsenal, Celtic and of course, Ireland.

In recent years, Sheila suffered from ill health; her strength never fully recovered after surviving seven weeks on a ventilator with double pneumonia 12 years ago. She lived at home in Sutton with community care support, until she was taken to Beaumont hospital on April 10th. Within 24 hours she had been diagnosed with Covid-19. She said goodbye to all her children and grandchildren over the phone, and spent a couple of hours with her son Barry at her side the day before she died, on April 19th.– Ciara Kenny

Tom Mulholland

Pioneer, 1936-2020

Born on March 8th, 1936, Tom Mulholland lived his entire life in Kilkerley, a small village just outside Dundalk. Tom was a farmer, and following his schooling, he worked with his father on the family farm. He spent every day working the fields and building up his dairy herd.

Tom married Margaret Conlon on August 1st, 1968, and they had eight children, James, Ann Marie Thomas, Roisin, Mairéad, John, Claire and Eilish. Tom was a great athlete and represented Louth and Leinster at senior level. He continued to run as a veteran, and remained involved with athletics at an organisational level into his late 70s.

He loved all sports including GAA, and was an honorary president of Kilkerley Emmets GFC. Some of his proudest days were watching his children play Gaelic, ladies Gaelic and camogie at all levels for club and county.

In his later life, Tom enjoyed going on organised farming holidays with Margaret to Portugal and Italy, and loved meeting new like-minded people from all over the country. A highlight on the couple’s social calendar was the Galway races, which they travelled to with friends every year.

Tom died on April 20th in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda. He had been admitted on Easter Sunday from Dealgan Nursing Home, the facility taken over by the HSE April 17th as it struggled to cope with an outbreak of coronavirus.

“A life-long pioneer, Tom was a gentle man who always took time to listen and then speak with whomever came his way,” says his daughter Roisin. “Not a number, not a statistic, but a much loved, much missed man who always gave more than he ever looked for.” – Ciara Kenny