Julia was an optimistic and kind lady
IT was with great sadness that the family and friends of the late Julia Kearney came together recently to celebrate her life.
Julia was born in 1922 in Studfield, Donard, Co Wicklow, to parents Michael and Mary Kearney. She had one older brother John who was born in 1919. Julia described her mother as a true lady and loved by all. Her father Michael was a pioneer and popular within the local community. He was a small farmer, an excellent stone mason, and built many walls in Donard still in existence today. These include Donard graveyard and the walls of ‘Hell Kettle’ bridge, where his signature can still be seen on both.
Her brother John was into cars and Julia recounted many nights of engine repairs on the kitchen floor.
Julia started school aged seven and finished at 14 in 7th class. Her junior teacher was Mrs Reilly and the senior teacher at the time was Master Moynihan, who started in Donard School on the same day as Julia. She enjoyed school and described her best friend as her neighbour Molly Tyrrell.
Julia often talked about life growing up and working on a small farm. She described a typical dinner of potatoes, cabbage, and salty rashers. She was always amazed by the modern day obsession with too much salt based on watching her Aunt Liz, who added salt to already salty rashers and lived to be over 100 years.
Julia highlighted that people were a lot more active in previous times due to the lack of cars.
She described an outing as going to a dance or a trip in the ‘Pony and Trap’ to Ballinroan near Baltinglass to visit her grandmother.
Her favourite dog was Jess who she could ask to ‘go call the men for dinner’ and the dog would go to the fields where the men were working and start barking.
Julia said in a collection of stories compiled in the book ‘Stone on the Pier’: ‘Looking back you could say there was nothing in our time compared with today. And yet there was. We had great friendliness. We had great neighbourliness. We had great support for each other.’
Julia talked of neighbours working together in making hay, spreading manure, and thrashing of corn. She talked of gathering in a neighbour’s house to play cards, where talk of ghost stories would make her too afraid to walk home alone.
Julia talked about the hardship during the Emergency which started in 1939. This was the beginning of a rationing system that continued until December 1951. Items rationed included tea, flour, and sugar. Julia loved her cup of tea. However, the tea ration in Ireland was only a quarter of that in Britain. Julia also described a coarse type of flour which was used to make Black Bread and which Julia described as inedible.
Julia was very active in the local community and received a certificate for her life-long membership of the ICA. She was always present on the stage for the annual sale of work. She collected and helped organise the monthly parish non-stop draw. She attended the friendship club and described the rural transport scheme as the best thing to happen in the country since rural electrification.
Julia had a long history of caring and minding children. Julia has influenced the next generation of Kearneys, helping to raise a number of them and offering advice with a smile and sense of humour. She was totally non-materialistic in terms of worldly goods and never forgot a birthday.
Her nieces and nephews, to whom she known as ‘Jude’, described her as the most positive, humorous and optimistic person that they had the privilege of knowing. She would often say: ‘If we cannot laugh about it, where would we be’.
She was a modern lady who kept up to date with current affairs and never expressed much nostalgia for the past.
Religion was integrated into Julia’s life and she had great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. She slept great and said it was due to a clear conscience. She was a leader at community events, such as funerals, with rosaries and prayers. She did have an unbiased view and once stated that ‘one mass per day is sufficient for anyone’.
Julia read without glasses all her life. She was fortunate with good health and did everything possible to avoid going to hospital. She ate good hearty food and cooked a dinner most days of her life. She never complained about pain. Like the Queen, she had her own personal physician in Dr Mary Kearney, who advised her with love.
Last December she fell and cracked her pelvis. She was taken under protest to Naas hospital to get it examined. They completed an x-ray, after which the doctor started pressing on her pelvis. The doctor asked ‘Do you feel pain?” to which Jude replied ‘no’. The doctor was confused and re-examined the x-ray, eventually saying, ‘I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you have cracked your pelvis. The good news is that I can do nothing about it other than some strapping and you can go home.’
Julia laughed with delight and made a high speed wheelchair escape from Naas Hospital.
Julia had great affection for her neighbour and friend Paddy Tyrrell. He collected her pension, opened kitchen presses and the fridge to review the food she had in the house, and created the shopping list. He often brought her to Mass and included her in the family Sunday dinner. They often shared the Sunday newspaper with Paddy reading first and then passing it onto Julia.
Her favourite local restaurant was Bia Blasta in Baltinglass. She had excellent rapport with Mary Rose and Tom. She would place her order as the ‘usual with a glass of milk’. She believed in shopping local in ‘John’s shop’ and fundamentally understood the value of having this facility in the community. She made the best apple tarts in Ireland but never did any measuring of ingredients. It was like an artist knowing their craft.
She enjoyed the wireless (radio) during the day and would only turn on the TV in the evening.
If you planned to visit Julia for an hour, you needed to begin your departure after 30 minutes. She would always insist on putting on the kettle and having a cup of tea.
The family are grateful for the wonderful neighbours that Julia had; Tyrrell’s, Doyle’s, Allen’s, and Lynch’s. Julia received home help for many years and the family are especially thankful for the care and love shown by Pauline during this time. In January 2017, Julia moved to the nursing home in Dunlavin.
It was here that Sinead and all the staff, especially Nurse Jackie who was one of those with Julia as she passed away and took amazing care of her during her final months. The family are particularly appreciative of this.
The Kearney family want to express thanks and sincere gratitude for the support they have received. Special thanks to Father Eamon, Father Willie, Halligans Undertakers, Majella Walsh and Terri Conron.
The extended Kearney family always referred to Julia as Jude who was their special Aunt, friend, and advisor and by whom is dearly missed. May Julia rest in peace.