O’LEARY (Toorbonia, Rathmore): On April 1, 2015, in the loving care of the matron and staff of Millstreet Community Hospital, HANNAH (nee Murphy), wife of the late Jeremiah, mother of the late Connie, grandmother of the late Jerry, great-grandmother of the late Katelyn. Deeply regretted by her sister Julia, sons Pat Joe, Donie, Jackie, Derry, Neilie and Martin, daughters Kathleen, Joanie, Breda and Teresa, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.
Reposing in Tarrant’s Funeral Home, Millstreet this Thursday evening from 7pm, followed by removal to St Patrick’s Church at 9pm. Liturgy of the Word on tomorrow, Good Friday, at 11am. Burial afterwards in St Mary’s Cemetery. No flowers, please. Donations, if desired, to Millstreet Hospital.
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Community website for Millstreet, Co. Cork, Ireland
She had lived by the hills of Caherbarnagh, Gortavehy and Toorbonia for most of her long life
Her name was Hannah Murphy before she became the late Jer O Leary’s wife
She has many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in places far and wide
From the mountains between Millstreet and Rathmore their home countryside
A good mother to her children and to Jer O Leary a good wife
Hannah would have been in her nineties she lived quite a long life
When i was a young boy she was in her physical prime
And this is going back many Seasons in time
Three score and ten years is regarded as the average human lifetime span
On an average a few years more for a woman than it is for a man
Hannah O Leary was seventy quite a long time ago
And eventually time that rusts iron becomes everyone’s foe
The years go by quickly and time ticks on fast
And only the memories of what used to be seems to last
And on looking back the years it only seems like yesterday
That she often brought lunch to her husband Jer O Leary in Den Donnelly’s bog in May
Life’s journey for us all comes to an end one day
Though few do wish for death in truth one can say
The last remains of that good person Hannah O Leary by Cashman’s Hill in St Mary’s lay
From the mountains by where she used to live not that far away.
“Hannah O’Leary” is by Francis Duggan
http://francisrhymer.blogspot.ie/2015/04/hannah-o-leary.html
(added by mdc)
Hello Francis,
That poem is beautiful. Thank you so much for writing it. I’m her grandson, Donie’s son. I know my father was very moved by it as well.
Keep up the great work,
Kieran.
Francis,
let me echo the words of my brother, Kieran. Thank you so much for the beautiful tribute to our grandmother. She was a wonderful woman, and an enduring part of our childhood and later years. To know she was so loved and admired by so many is a wonderful realization for the family. Please know that your words will be framed and placed in our house in the weeks to come. Many thanks from David, Kim, DJ, and Charlotte in Vermont, U.S.A.