OBITUARY OF MARGARET O’SHEA, RIP,KILDIMO 1919 – 2013

OBITUARY OF MARGARET O’SHEA, RIP,KILDIMO

1919 – 2013

Margaret O’Shea (nee Naughton) was born in 1919, the only child of Patrick Naughton from Clarina and Mary Catherine Kennedy from Rearour, Adare.  Her early years were spent in Corcamore where she attended the local Tervoe Girls School, before moving to Laurel Hill for her secondary education.  During these years she loved playing tennis and cycling.

Her marriage to Gerard O’Shea from Kildimo, took place in 1946 in the University Church, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin.  Their union was blessed with five boys and four girls, all a source of great pride to Margaret.  She relished the fact that all her children were within easy reach, having to travel no more than over the border to Portroe in Co. Tipperary to visit her daughter Margaret, with her son Canon John within the county bounds in Abbeyfeale where he ministers as the Parish Priest. 

Her extended family swells to twenty-seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren, all of whom are greatly attached to their ‘Nan’.  Among her acquaintances she was known as ‘Babe’, resulting from her singular status from childhood origin.  She retained a keen interest in her ancestry from both the Kennedy and Naughton sources and she and her late husband features in Brother John Feheney’s history of the Naughton family from Ballycanana, Ballysteen.  Margaret was a regular yearly visitor to Lourdes and other religious sites such as Rome and the Holy Land, with visits to Ballybunion in between.

Like many another housewife, membership of the ICA brought her many opportunities for friendship and enjoyment along with developing her skill as a painter, as evidenced by her works hanging in the family home and enjoyed by her children.  The same ICA friends paid Margaret a final honour by a Guard of Honour on her last journey.  An enduring interest of the late Margaret was singing in her local church where she also nourished her faith as she did with frequent recourse to the Rosary and the Holy Water, always used to bless the ‘comings and goings’ of her family.  Such exercises of faith, strengthened her in her farming endeavours and the rearing of her family and the promotion of her wisdom that sustained her through the inevitable trials of life, such as the death of her husband Gerard. 

While her passing has left a void in village life and the lives of family and friends, nevertheless this comes with gratitude for her ninety-four years and the rich legacy left by her passing.

Friday August 2, has been set aside for the celebration of her Month’s Mind in the local church at 7.30 pm.  Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dilis.

Compiled by her son Tommy O’Shea, Kildimo