The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Community at its most beautiful
BETTY RYAN DIED OF BLOOD CANCER LAST WEEK, AND HER FUNERAL HAD TO BE HELD PRIVATELY OWING TO ONGOING RESTRICTIONS. BUT LOCALS LINED HER CORTÉGE ROUTE TO OFFER A BEAUTIFUL GOODBYE
THE family of the late Betty Ryan have expressed their awe as a community stood by them in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh on Thursday, with locals lining the route taken by her Funeral cortége as a mark of respect for their friend, who passed away last week after a long battle against a blood cancer.
Due to blanket Funeral restrictions in place as part of Ireland’s COVID-19 precautions, Betty’s wake and Funeral had to be held privately, but locals were not to be denied their chance to say goodbye to a much-loved member of the community.
On both sides of the road between the parish church and Dun Urlann cemetery, people donned their high-vis jackets and, keeping the appropriate distance from one another, stood out as the hearse made its way along the roughly-two-kilometre route. Others chose to remain in their cars, but were there to salute the cortége as it filed past.
Betty battled bravely after being diagnosed with Myelodysplasia syndrome three years ago, but she succumbed to illness in University Hospital Kerry on St Patrick’s Day.
Betty – who was a potter with facility in Baile an Fheirtéirigh, and also worked in Naionra Ceann Trá – had previously undergone a bone-marrow transplant in London, but sadly relapsed some three months later.
A video was posted online by Seán Mac an tSíthigh of the emotional tribute paid by the community to Betty, and it has captured hearts and minds throughout Kerry, Ireland, and further afield. Seán said the video had drawn nearly 685,000 views through Twitter alone, and the total number of views, factoring in other platforms, would likely put it over the one-million mark.
It has also featured in news outlets worldwide, including the New York Times.
The Kerryman contacted the Ryan family, and Betty’s husband, Dennis, saluted back at the community who saluted his family.
“This was a beautiful way for the community to express their love for a beautiful person,” he said. “Three years ago, Betty was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, which was the eventual cause of her death. Ironically, her blood type was also her motto for life: ‘B-positive’, and through her darkest days she said [that]: be positive.
“It’s very hard to find the words to say thank you to all in the community for yesterday. We felt every hug and every handshake in each of the faces on that journey to the graveyard.
“Betty would be so proud and so happy for us to have that support. We would also like to thank the medical teams in Tralee, Cork and London who gave it everything, as did she. And almost made it. We are so very proud of her.”
It was Tor Cotton and Teresa O’Connor who mobilised the effort, which began with reverent, spell-binding silence in the Gaeltacht village as the Ryan family moved from the church to a chilly Baile an Fheirtéaraigh afternoon.
“It was a tribute as much as anything else to the Ryan family, who are just very popular, very nice people,” Tor said. “The Funeral traditions are so culturally entrenched in West Kerry: the simple handshakes, the filing past a coffin, the opportunity to pay their respect. And I think people just realised this was another way of doing this.
“The idea came to me because I would be friendly with Betty’s daughter, Carol, and I met her husband in Garvey’s [SuperValu, Dingle], where he explained to me the restrictions that were in place for the Funeral. But I wanted to show up for Carol; for her husband; for Betty’s husband, Denis; and all the kids. I put my idea to Teresa O’Connor, who worked with Betty in the Naionra, and she thought it was brilliant. So we composed a text and spread the word on social media; I rallied the Baile an Fheirtéaraigh side, while Teresa looked after the Ceann Trá side, more or less. We met an overwhelming response, and it just seemed to grow its own legs.
“The silence in the village was spell-binding as they left the church, and then, I understand, people began to sing Óró Sé do Bheatha Bhaile as they approached the school.”
The late Betty was predeceased by her sister, Margaret, and is survived by her husband, Denis; son, Denis Óg; daughters Carol, Triona, and Jenni; sisters, Catherine and Trisha; brothers, Christy and Joe; grandchildren; daughter-in law, Niamh; sons-in-law, Mark, Fergal, and Dan; nieces and nephews; relatives; and, evidently, many, many friends.