The late Kitty Flynn, Kilbeggan
THE funeral will take place tomorrow (Wednesday, January 15) of one of the Midlands' oldest citizens, 98-year-old Kilbeggan woman Kitty Flynn.
Kitty Flynn, Main Street, Kilbeggan, passed away on Saturday, January 11 and was well known as a local historian, writer and community activist.
She worked on books delving into the history of Kilbeggan GAA and the 1798 rising and was involved in the community group which set about restoring Kilbeggan distillery in the early 1980s.
Kitty completed a university degree at NUI Galway in 2014 at the age of 87 and was highly regarded locally as a font of knowledge.
In her younger years she attended boarding school in Moate and lived in England for a period after the war in the 1940s.
When she returned home she ran a guest house in Kilbeggan with her sister Theresa, who predeceased her.
Tributes flowed in after news of her passing spread at the weekend. Kilbeggan Community Group said: “Kitty was a valued member our committee for many years and was always very generous with her time and we will always be thankful.”
Ruth Illingworth of Westmeath Archaeological & Historical Society and Westmeath Heritage Forum said: “She was a great historian and a wonderful citizen who did so much for the history and heritage of Kilbeggan and Westmeath.”
A tribute from the directors, managers and staff of South Westmeath Employment, Education & Training Services (SWEETS), Kilbeggan said: “Kitty was a treasured member of our board of directors - her insights, enthusiasm and interest in all aspects of community and further education was an inspiration to us all. We will miss her.”
Along with condolences on RIP.ie there were social media posts and Kilbeggan Shamrocks GAA said: “We were so sorry to learn of the passing of Kitty Flynn, Main Street today. One of Kilbeggan’s oldest and most knowledgeable residents, Kitty was a wonderful person who we will be forever indebted to for penning our club history.”
Her remains were reposing at her home on Main Street in Kilbeggan on Tuesday evening.
The funeral Mass will take place at 11am on Wednesday at St James' Church, Kilbeggan with burial afterwards in the Relic cemetery, Kilbeggan.
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