Obituary: Kathleen was an independent woman who was much loved by all who knew her

THE ESTEEM in which the late Kathleen Magee was held by all who knew her was evident by the large numbers that attended her recent reposing and burial.

Kathleen, who died on Monday 24 March, was a well-known figure in Carlow, both from her time working in Läpple, the former tool and die manufacturing plant, and through her involvement in many organisations in the town.

In fact, one former employee of that company remarked at Kathleen’s reposing that it was like a Läpple reunion. Although Kathleen, who worked in the company’s HR department, had retired from there in September 2002 and the factory ceased operations entirely in Carlow in the summer of 2007, many former employees gathered at her funeral to exchange fond memories of her.

Daughter of the late Garda Sergeant Patrick and Greta Godfrey, Kathleen and the other members of the Godfrey family moved from Ballinakill, Co Laois, where Kathleen was born, to Carlow on 16 August 1939, when she was just three years’ old, following her father’s appointment as station sergeant in Carlow. She lived in the Garda Barracks on Tullow Street until her father’s untimely death at just 52 years of age in 1953, when the family moved to 26 Dublin Street.

On completing her education, Kathleen worked for a while in the local sugar factory before transferring to work for an insurance broker on Tullow Street. Following her marriage in October 1960 to Seán, a member of An Garda Síochána, the couple moved to Balbriggan in north Co Dublin, where their three daughters, Deirdre, Orla and Grainne, were later born.

The family returned to Carlow in 1975, first living in Riverside before later moving to Highfield, with Kathleen eventually settling at 9 Tyndall Court on the Kilkenny Road in the late 2000s. A highly popular member of that close-knit community, Kathleen was also a director of the Tyndall Court Management Committee.

On her return to Carlow, Kathleen worked for a time in the Carlow Lodge Hotel (now the Woodford Dolmen) before taking up an appointment in the HR department of Läpple in October of that year, where she remained until her retirement.

However, that did not mean Kathleen was going to take life at a more leisurely pace. Outside of work, Kathleen was involved in many organisations in the town and continued with those groups long after her retirement.

As a teenager she had a keen interest in music and was a member of several choirs. This was an interest she maintained throughout the rest of her life. She was also a member and staunch supporter of Carlow District Credit Union and its ethos of equality and mutual self-help, for people and not profit.

This was a theme which permeated other organisations Kathleen was a member of, such as the local ICA and much later through her work with Victim Support.

Throughout her entire life, Kathleen held her religious beliefs close to her heart and believed in offering support and a helping hand to others whenever in need.

With a little more time on her hands through her latter years in retirement, Kathleen also offered support to the Cathedral Parish, where, for several years she was a eucharistic minister.

At her funeral Mass, her daughter Orla remarked that her mother’s sense of faith had sustained her throughout her entire life. Kathleen believed in the power of prayer, especially to the Blessed Virgin, and as Orla and her two sisters, and much later their own children, navigated their way through exams, Kathleen was quick to say she would ‘get on the beads’ to make sure they were successful in their endeavours.

A fiercely independent woman, Kathleen continued to enjoy living in her own home until her death, surrounded by her husband and family, as she had always wished.

The last surviving member of the Godfrey family, Kathleen’s interment took place to the family grave in St Mary’s Cemetery, Carlow on Friday 28 March following requiem Mass in the Cathedral of the Assumption, concelebrated by Fr Yanbo Chen SVD, CC, Carlow, assisted by Fr Liam Merrigan, PP, Monasterevin, Co Kildare and Fr Paddy Byrne, PP, Abbeyleix, Co Laois.

Predeceased by her infant son Donal and her siblings Ena, Donal, Paddy and Michael, Kathleen is survived by her husband Seán, daughters Deirdre (Carlow), Orla (Naas) and Grainne (Leighlinbridge), sons-in-law Ronan, John and Philip, grandchildren Ciaran, Mark, Brian, Eimear, Anna, Emma and Jane, five great-grandchildren, nephews Pat, Michael and David, niece Elizabeth, sister-in-law, relatives and friends.