A rock to her family, The Glen – and The Kerryman

HER community in The Glen has lost her industrious spirit; The Kerryman, a long-serving and deft notes writer; and her friends and family, a very warm and witty person with a deep devotion to those she loved.

But all these things are why the late Mary Reardon (née Moynihan) has left a legacy that few could match.

Mary passed away peacefully in University Hospital Kerry on January 3 and was laid to rest at the New Cemetery in The Glen two days later. The community she served so brilliantly during her 72 years came out to pay their respect, and the family she devoted herself to said their final farewells – albeit with much to look back on with pride.

Originally from Coachford, County Cork, Mary always had strong ties to The Glen, long before she moved there in the 1960s. Her parents were Jack Moynihan and Mary O’Shea, the latter hailing from The Glen.

Her aunt, Hannah Keating, lived in The Glen, where she was a shopkeeper. It was in The Glen that Mary met her husband, Michael, whom she married in 1967.

From there, Mary became heavily involved with the local Women’s Group and was well-known locally as a driving force behind Nollag na mBan celebrations.

She was similarly to the fore in bringing the local Community Day Care Centre to fruition, and she was a rock for decades to the local church.

But as her daughter, Martina, explained, she was involved with just about “anything community”.

“She was always great at getting things done in the locality,” Martina said. “At home, she was very witty and was always brilliant to my Dad; my brothers, Patrick and John; and myself. In our early days, I can remember herself and Dad working the farm, and she was a great source of stories and folklore, and great at writing.

“She also had a great love of the arts and, among her many ventures in the community, she became involved in providing an art group for the elderly of the locality.

“She was just a wonderful woman,” Martina added.

She also became a close friend of The Kerryman’s, con- tributing local notes to this newspaper for some 20 years.

The Kerryman would like to express its condolences to her aforementioned family members, as well as daughterin-law, Liz; Martina’s partner, Mikey; her sister, Sheila Galvin; brothers, Ted, Patsy, and John Moynihan; sisters-in-law; brother-in-law; grandchildren; uncle; nieces; nephews; cousins; relatives; neighbours; and many friends. She was predeceased by her sister, Gobnait.

The late Mary Reardon. Mary was a notes writer for this newspaper for many years.