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Mary Drugan RIP
The death has taken place of Mary Drugan, Tullynamoyle, Drumkeeran.
Mary died in St Phelim’s Nursing Home, Dromahair,
on Sunday morning, 30th December.
Mary was born on 5th December 1930, the third child of Mary Alice and Thomas Feely,
Tullywillian.
She had two older brothers, the twins John and Mark, and a younger brother,
Tommy.
She received her primary education at Meenymore NS.
While many of her generation went abroad to make a living,
Mary was to spend all her
life in the locality.
The only move she made was when she travelled the short journey
from Tullywillian
to settle in Tullynamoyle, the home of her husband Paddy Drugan.
They
were married in 1961.
Family was at the heart of Mary’s life.
She totally dedicated herself to looking after
her husband Paddy
and their two children, Mary and Tommy.
Her work was not limited
to household work such as the cooking and the baking.
She also played an active part
in the day-
milking the cows, saving turf in
the bog, cutting the seed potatoes,
feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs.
This
was a workload that would increase as the health of her husband Paddy declined.
Paddy
died in 1987.
Mary Drugan gave put her whole heart and her whole life into caring for her family.
People
may wonder where she got the energy to keep going.
Mary was a woman of prayer, a woman
of deep faith.
Not only did she say the usual family rosary,
but throughout the day
she had a whole series of prayers she’d say quietly to herself.
And, of course she’d
never miss her Sunday Mass.
For Mary, God was not some distant power in her life.
No,
he was her constant companion
as she travelled the journey of her life.
Mary had many, many friends.
Her warm smile and her warm welcome greeted everyone
who called to the house.
And the smile and welcome were quickly followed by the cup
of tea
and a slice of the homemade soda bread.
No matter how busy she may have been,
if
any of her neighbours or friends were in any difficulty,
Mary would drop everything
and come to their help.
This was particularly true if someone was suffering from an
injury or a strain.
In one way, she may have been ahead of her time.
Long before physiotherapists
were part of the GAA scene,
Mary was providing an equivalent service for players through
her cure of the strain.
Her cure for the strain, based as it was on prayer,
was reputed
to be a very powerful and a very effective cure.
Mary’s was a simple life but it was a life lived well;
a life of goodness, a life
of kindness,
a life filled with love for her family, love for God and love for her
friends.
She was a lady who enjoyed life’s simple pleasures.
She enjoyed taking a break
on Sunday evenings to sit down and watch the Riordans.
And she enjoyed occasional
treats, such as a days out to Bundoran or to Rosnowlagh.
Over the last few years her mobility had become quite limited.
Last March, as a result
of a fall, she had to go to hospital.
While she recovered quite well from this accident,
she
had to remain in the care of Our Lady’s Hospital, Manorhamilton,
due to the onset
of other illnesses.
About two months ago she was transferred to St Phelim’s Nursing
Home, Dromahair.
It was there that she died peacefully on Sunday, 30th December.
Mary is survived by her daughter Mary Rooney, by her son Tommy and by her brother Tommy.
A very large congregation attended the Funeral Mass on Tuesday, 1st January.
The Mass
was celebrated by Fr Alwill PP, assisted by Fr Maurice McMorrow, Glendade.
After the Mass Mary was laid to rest beside her late husband Paddy
in Killargue New
Cemetery.