A former college principal whose body was found at her home in Waterford last Monday had a “rare gift” and “saw goodness where others saw faults, beauty where others hurried past, and friends where others saw strangers,” her funeral Mass has heard.
Noreen Daly, aged 81, had lived alone following the death of her husband Michael in 2023, reports Breaking News.
A man in his 30s has been charged with the murder of the pensioner, who had permanently relocated to Ardsallagh from Monkstown in Co Dublin earlier this year.
She and her husband had kept a holiday home in Waterford for 25 years, reports Breaking News.
The pensioner was a native of Ballygarvan in Co Cork and moved to Grenagh in Co Cork as a youngster when her family sold their land to facilitate the development of Cork Airport.
Her funeral Mass in St Lachteen’s Church in Grenagh heard that Noreen became one of the first members of cabin crew with Aer Lingus and often flew out of her old home at Cork Airport, reports Breaking News.
Her niece Therese Walsh told mourners that Noreen had a great capacity to make people feel seen.
She said that Noreen had lived an “incredible life,” marrying the “love of her life” Michael in 1969 in Paris, and two years later enrolling in the College of Art and Design on Kildare Street in Dublin, reports Breaking News.
Her “great passion” for art ultimately led her to become Principal of the College of Art and Design in Dún Laoghaire.
Walsh said that her “remarkable” aunt had an enormous enthusiasm for education and helped countless students reach their potential, reports Breaking News.
She said that no words could possibly sum up the “amazing woman” they were honoured to have had in their lives.
“Noreen’s heart was a garden of such beautiful flowers and those flowers never died even in the hardest times. She was a force of nature with a zest for life. While our hearts are heavy with grief they are also filled with gratitude and countless memories she has gifted us, reports Breaking News.
“She showered us with pure love and showed us how to become courageous. Noreen you had a way of making people feel special — making people feel seen in a world where people are unseen.
“Noreen had a unique way of getting the best out of you through her positivity and angelic powers of persuasion, reports Breaking News.
“She taught us the meaning of family with her unconditional love. Her generosity had no bounds.
“She filled her life with her love for singing sean nós, opera, the Irish language, dancing and music of all genres, reports Breaking News.
“She immersed herself in the Ardmore choir where people described her as having the voice of a pure angel. She was a member of so many groups.”
Walsh added that the legacy of her aunt was one of “love, kindness, generosity, care, determination, strength and courage,” reports Breaking News.
Meanwhile, Grenagh parish priest Fr Micheál O’Loingsigh said Noreen would have been touched by the fact that the Ardmore Singers provided the music at the Mass.
Fr O’Loingsigh said Noreen was a “kind compassionate person,” reports Breaking News.
“She saw the good in everyone and wanted to help everyone in whatever way she could. Above all for you she was a dear sister, an aunt that you are heartbroken after her passing.
“Maybe we should remember again her love of life. Her death does not define her life,” reports Breaking News.
He urged mourners to look at the photograph of Noreen on the coffin which showed how “radiant she was in life.”
“Perhaps look at that picture. Keep it in your mind as I know you will. That radiance, that light she shone of joy and love in this world. That can never be extinguished,” reports Breaking News.
Offertory gifts included a ukulele, a banana plant, Noreen’s hats, a sculpture she created in memory of her husband and one of her paintings.
Her family thanked the gardaà and the emergency services for their help over the previous week, reports Breaking News.
A memorial Mass booklet was provided to all those gathered in the church, in which her loved ones thanked Noreen for her “generous heart, her love of nature and the countless acts of quiet goodness she scattered throughout the world.”
The pensioner was laid to rest at St Lacteen’s cemetery. She is survived by her siblings Teddy Murphy, Tessie Walsh, Lelia Bolster, Ann Humphreys and Kitty O’Doherty, whom she “adored beyond measure,” along with brothers-in-law Batt and Kevin, sisters-in-law Bernie, Sheila and Sheilagh, and her many nieces, nephews, cousins, neighbours and friends, reports Breaking News.
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