Obituary: Late Teresa Finan ‘ was a real lady’
TERESA Finan lived on Harmony Hill for over 70 years. During that time she raised six children who went on to give her 15 grandchildren and 18 great- grandchildren.
She was a Dunleavy from Abbyquarter and in 1944 she married J. J. Finan. Until his death in the year 2000 at the age of 76 she loved him dearly.
Teresa saw tremendous changes in Sligo and lived through very difficult times when bringing up a large family on limited resources which was a monumental task.
She was one of the last residents of the street that had once housed more than twenty families.
Her house at No. 5 became the half way house for several generations of Finans and friends.
No- one was ever turned away from her door which was never locked during the day, despite the Gardaí on several occasions advising her that it was dangerous to leave it unlocked.
Teresa said more than once that she would have been worn out if she had to get up and answer the door every time someone called.
Teresa enjoyed remarkable health and celebrated her 90th birthday last January with a large number of family and friends.
When she suffered the massive stroke that finally brought her down, the medical staff at the hospital told her family that they just did not see 90- year- olds coming into them with virtually no medical history.
She died as she would have wished. She went into an irreversible coma after the stroke and slipped away a few days later, surrounded by her family.
Her funeral was attended by several hundred, including many who had travelled long distances. It was a fitting tribute to a woman who was most aptly described by many at the funeral as a ‘ Real Lady’. She was a friend to all who knew and loved her.
Teresa survived by her six children, Jim ( Castlebar), Tom ( Glasgow), Ann ( Galway), Teresa ( Dublin) and Linda and Phil who live in Sligo and by her extended family and friends.