By Andy Spearman

Regular Drogheda Life readers will have noticed that there have been no posts on the site for over a week. This was due to the death on St. Patrick’s Day of my mother Anne.

Mum and I were very close, perhaps the fact that I am the only boy, I use the term loosely, in the family of four, meant that I got more than my fair share of love from a woman who had lots of it to give.

Mum was always something of a rebel and I like to think that some of that attitude has rubbed off on me. She had a healthy disrespect for those in authority and took rules as a guide rather than an instruction.

In my early teenage years I was always getting into trouble for mitching from school which was in the centre of Dublin where there are of course much more interesting things for a young fella to do than sit and learn Latin, algebra and boring stuff like that.

My mother was called in to the headmaster’s office on several occasions when he would give out about my behaviour and tell her to bring me home and keep me there until I learnt to behave.

On one such occasion she and the headmaster had a frank and sometimes heated conversation about my future prospects and I was somewhat startled when she stood up for me like a barrister representing the accused in a criminal court case.

“Perhaps you should widen your mind” she said, or words to that effect, “make your lessons more interesting to a young inquisitive mind and perhaps he’d stay and listen more closely!”

With that she dragged me out of the headmaster’s office only stopping briefly to turn and utter the two words “silly ass!” I was mortified of course, but Mum went way up in my estimation that day.

Mum has lived alone for the 34 years since my Dad died and, whilst she was a loving and attentive wife and mother, it has to be said she blossomed as a person in the time since he passed.

Her funeral at Gerrard’s Church on Friday was a joyous affair, a day of mixed emotions obviously but more celebration than grief. The church was packed with friends and family and there were stories and memories galore. 

Mum loved young people and many of the contributions to the celebration came from her grandchildren and even her seven year old great grandaughter Juno. Friends from the East Meath Active Retirement Association and members of the local walkers club who she would meet in the pub after they had done the walks! 

The photo at the top of this page is of her joking with members of the New York Police Department at the top of the Empire State Building in 2008.

We had ended up in the Big Apple after my wife Jenny and I asked her where she’d like to go for her 80^th birthday. We were thinking was there any particular restaurant she’d like to go to or perhaps a trip to London?

“I’ve always wanted to go to New York” she replied without any hesitation. A couple pf months later we landed in New York and we had a ball even though she did walk the legs off us!   

Mum was seldom ill in her almost 97 years and had hardly any overnight stays in hospital until just over seven weeks ago. I'd settle for that!

Many thanks are due to the staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Gormanston Wood Nursing Home for the great care they gave to her in her final days.  Thanks also to Sarah Gardiner for conducting what was a memorable celebration of Mum's life, it was enjoyed by everyone present.

Goodbye Mum, missing you already!