Maureen loved her family and friends
THERE is a great void left behind with the passing of Maureen McKenna (née Warren), late of Newcourt Road, and formerly of Monkstown Farm, Dun Laoghaire.
Maureen was a lady of small stature and big personality, adored by her eight children, 19 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and her devoted husband Jack.
She died suddenly on Wednesday, November 20 at the age of 88, and is deeply missed by her family and all who knew her.
‘ Tiny as she might have been, nothing was ever a problem,’ said Jack, and her children said that their mammy was ‘ top of the range’.
She was great fun, witty, and had a fantastic personality.
She was a remarkable woman who worked tirelessly to raise eight children and make a beautiful home for them. Maureen loved her football, and all sports, and was a big fan of Manchester United.
She was so loving, and was great with each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and each one of them absolutely loved her.
While most of them towered over her, they all had the greatest of respect for a wonderful woman.
Maureen’s granddaughters escorted their beloved grandmother towards the altar, and her grandsons carried her away at the end of funeral Mass.
Maureen was originally from Oliver Plunkett Avenue in Monkstown Farm. Jack was playing football for a team down there called Farm United, and her father was the manager.
They met in 1950, so have known each other 70 years and been married for 64 years.
One night they were at a dance in the Arcadia in Bray and missed the last bus, so Jack decided there was only one thing for it, and gave Maureen a cross-bar all the way to Dun Laoghaire on his bike, before turning around and cycling back home.
That care, devotion and sense of fun and happiness characterised their lives together, and they looked after each other and their children with the greatest of love.
She always loved to have a crowd in the house, and when they decided it was time to go home, she would say ‘what’s your rush?’
Jack and Maureen started their family in Connolly Square.
By the time they had seven children, they moved to Newcourt Road and had their youngest there.
The brood included twin girls, with the news of the double-birth not coming until she was past seven months into her pregnancy!
Jack went to visit Maureen in hospital, where he learned that a doctor had just told her how well the twins were doing.
Prior to that, they had only been able to hear one heartbeat as the babies were so close together.
So the family had the lovely little surprise of an extra baby.
Up to then there were very few twins, but Jack recalls that there were two other sets of twins aside from the McKennas that year.
Maureen’s brother Jim used to see her coming into the square, and said you could see the bump before you’d see her.
Maureen loved baking when she had a young family, and used to bake an apple tart for Jack to bring to work.
Jack ran a variety group called the DeeBee variety group, linked to Donnybrook Garage.
The kids were in the shows, Jack produced them, and not only would Maureen look after the costumes, she would welcome a cast and crew of around 40 people to her home after rehearsals for sandwiches and cake.
They would be sitting on the stairs, on the floor, all over the house, and Maureen was in her element.
Maureen enjoyed her friendships, and perhaps going to bingo on occasion, but family was always her chief priority in life, particularly when raising a family of eight, and she was also a woman of great faith.
She loved to go to Lourdes and in 1980 convinced her husband to come with her.
She also persuaded him to go to the baths at Lourdes, and a painful back problem has given him no more trouble since that day.
Ever since then, Jack too has gone to Lourdes or Fatima nearly every year since then.
Jack’s ‘ half-day’ was a Saturday afternoon. He would have to entertain himself when Maureen would spend a few hours having lunch at the Royal Hotel with her close group of friends, chatting and catching up.
After suffering a stroke in 2002, Maureen recovered quite well, although wasn’t able to do as much as she once had.
Jack looked after her ever since and has always treated his darling wife like a queen.
She was laid to rest last month at Springfield cemetery in Bray following a funeral service at the Queen of Peace.