Theresa Dunne 1932-2006
My brother Peter wrote the following appreciation of my mother who died on June 21st. Many thanks to all those who have been so kind and supportive to us during this time. I am really grateful.
Mammy was born in 1932 in the heart of the Liberties. Her maiden name was Barnes and her mother?s maiden name was Fallon. The Barnes ancestry is rooted in Chester. My mother?s grandfather served in the British army and the Fallon family were originally from Co. Meath. She was an only child. This was quite unusual for the time but it explains a lot about her self-reliance and resourcefulness. Mammy had fascinating and detailed memories from her very early childhood that seems to have been happy but sometimes lonely. She was an early reader and was clever in school. She is an example of someone who used education as a route out of disadvantage. At the age of six she persuaded her parents to move into relatively better accommodation at Windsor Terrace. She also persuaded her parents to let her change schools. In primary school she aimed to obtain a scholarship to secondary education. On the strength of her own abilities, hard work and clarity of purpose she obtained a place in the St. Louis boarding school in Monaghan.
By her own accounts she had a tremendous time in Monaghan and excelled academically as well as in singing and drama. She obtained one of the best Leaving certs in the country and on the strength of this was expected to take a well-earned scholarship to proceed to third-level education in the NUI but decided to first enter religious life as a novice in the St Louis order of nuns. Within a short time of beginning her novitiate she contracted TB. She seemed unable to get help for her illness from her superiors and realized that if she didn?t leave the novitiate she might die. She spent time in a TB Sanatorium in Rialto, Dublin and eventually returned to full health. She worked for her relative Charlie Brocklebank in his optician business for a while and then worked in Cavendish?s in Grafton St. She was still only 19, on the 19th of March 1952 when she was asked out on a date by Daniel Dunne from Donnybrook, also employed at Cavendishes. They were married on September 8th in the same year. He was almost 18 years older and had come from quite a different kind of childhood. In 1954 they succeeded in making a move from a flat in Harrington Street to Dodder Park Road, Rathfarnham. In 1956 their first child was born, the first of 10 over the next 16 or so years.
Times were tough for parents of large families at that time. There was no car, no central heating, no washing machine or dryer, no disposable nappies, no supermarkets. Plastic pants, rubber undersheets, and a big pram for carrying the shopping were considered assets. Probably half the clothes the family wore in the early years were home made. My mother always insisted that these were the happiest days of her life. She continued to read books a plenty. She sang in the Terenure and Whitefriar Street Church choirs. My mother loved to visit the seaside during the summer, whether it be Bettystown, Bray or seapoint. And in the seventies , the use of a car brought new destinations such as Silver Strand Brittas Bay and Ardamine, Co. Wexford.
In 1972 my mother decided that a move to Meadow Park would solve a lot of financial difficulties. As the family grew up and my dad?s working years were dwindling my mother realized that she would have to become the main bread-winner. She succeeded in getting a place in UCD, an unusual step for a married woman in 1969. She successfully juggled child-rearing with night-time study for a BA degree. This was followed by a H.Dip in Education, completed in 1973. From1972 she held a teaching post close to home in Notre Dame des Missions secondary school, Churchtown.
She liked her job and she tried to encourage her students in the same way that she encouraged her children. There seemed to be no end to the personal sacrifices Mammy made to ensure that the family had a good education. She was always there to provide help and advice to all the extended family, never forgetting birthdays or anniversaries. When it was necessary she could be quite proactive in making sure that her children didn?t make bad choices. She said she had always just tried to do what she felt was best for her children. As the family progressively fled the nest she and Daniel senior came to know each other better and they had some great holiday trips together (Italia ?90 was a particular high point). She continued to read avidly and also tried to keep her mind sharp by doing crossword puzzles and the like.
Although Mammy was a very dedicated Catholic in her early life she was sometimes sceptical and other times open-minded about alternative religions and movements within the church. In the end she had come to very personal and deep conclusions about the meaning of life and the here-after. She was always very clear about what she wanted and she took this approach when health issues surfaced. After a hip operation that was not very successful she managed to maintain her independence by arranging a new layout for the house. When the hip problem was eventually sorted out she was able to become more active again. She was a regular swimming at the Rehab pool in Sandymount, where she also liked to walk along the seafront. In the last year or so she was closely involved in the care of her close friend Tommy Carroll who had tragically ended-up badly brain damaged following a heart attack.
We miss her, we were shocked at the speed of her ultimate decline and it will be a while before we have really come to the full realization of what has happened. Mammy was brave in the face of death and she went forward with great dignity. All the family managed to be there for her last moments. We all had a chance to tell her how much we loved her and to return a fraction of the love she had given us. We are as convinced as she was that this life is part of something bigger. We believe she is somewhere good with her own mother, father, husband and friends. We believe she is somehow with us too. (written by Peter Dunne)
