|
A tribute to my aunt Mary Callery
Sadly Auntie Mary, a kind and wonderful lady, died, aged 85, on the 20th June 2005. She is greatly missed by all her family, relations and many, many friends. Although she lived in a sparsely populated part of County Cavan over 1500 people attended her funeral service at Crosserlough Church. For many years she survived her husband Harry, (my uncle). Harry, the youngest of the four Callery boys inherited the Lisdonish land following the death of my grandfather Mick.
Mary was a local Cavan girl from Finea, Mary Ellen McCabe, before she married my uncle Harry Callery. Like all of her relations, I have the fondest memories of Mary - right from the time I stayed at my grandparents home during school holidays. Mary retained her sparkling personality, generosity of spirit and kindness right up to the time of her sad departure - she always make her visitors so welcome.
Her son Michael lives close by but has decided to let the farm so that he can pursue his career in electronics. He inheriting our grandparents musical talent and is an expert on the guitar, sings as well.
To Mary - The Good and the Kind
The lure of old places
Of which we're a part
The sight of old faces
That tug at the heart
Like Mary in Cavan
Bright light in the dark
Her Harry in heaven
Thoughts soar like a lark
Locked in our own spaces
We rush past the lights
And by-pass old places
That guide our insights
Hell bent on new places
We then fail to find
The love that embraces
The good and the kind.
The good and the kind
Mike Callery, March 2000
"One day that boy will be a professor"
Mary was an inspiration to everyone who visited her home in
Lisdonish. My cousin Dr Peter Callery, now Professor of Children's nursing at the University of Manchester, was just eight years old on his first visit to see Auntie Mary in 1966. He vividly describes, in his article for 'Paediatric Nursing' Auntie Mary's sympathetic understanding of his feelings of insecurity about an environment and culture so alien to his own childhood experience in a London suburb. He discovered too Mary's well known and uncanny gift for foreseeing future developments, prophesying that "One day that boy will be a professor" - read on "Every child should have an Auntie Mary" (click here)
Also : "Bernadine Callery's Tribute" (click here)
|
|
