Francis Remembered

Francis Corkery was fondly remembered by her many friends and colleagues at the unveiling of a seat in her memory in Belgooly on Saturday last.

The Kerry native, who worked locally in the Bank of Ireland, was the driving force behind the annual Summer Festival that has become such an important part of the village’s annual social calendar.

Having passed away unexpectedly before the annual festival last summer, for many her absence in the village is still keenly felt.

Before her husband, Seamus, and daughter, Hadra, unveiled the seat, which bears a stencil of the iconic bridge from her home town of Kenmare, Cathal O’Shea paid a fitting tribute to Francis.

Reflecting on her passing almost twelve months on from the unveiling, Cathal suggested it was important to remember Francis.

‘We wanted to do something special and something unique for Francis, because she was special and unique to us,’ Cathal said.

‘We didn’t want to plant a tree, we didn’t want to just put a bench in place, because we wanted something different, and Francis was very proud of where she came from, Kenmare, and she always reminded us of that.’

‘So, we put a plan in place to bring some part of Kenmare to Belgooly, and I hope we have achieved that and I hope it will be in situ for many years to come.’

Reflecting on the success of the festival, Cathal suggested it was Francis’s influence.

‘The festival was built on three important words over the years: kindness, respect and inclusion, and if you took Francis as an example, she excelled in all those three words,’ he said.

‘The kindness she showed to everybody, the respect she showed to everybody, and she never left anybody out.’

In closing his address, he thanked her colleagues at Bank of Ireland in Kinsale for their support in helping to put the fitting memorial in place, as well as paying tribute to the O’Dwyers for designing and casting the unique memorial, and those who had prepared the groundwork.

After Seamus and Hadra had unveiled the seat, Seamus took the opportunity to thank the community for their immense support for both him and Hadra in what had been a difficult time.

Describing the seat as a ‘wonderful idea’, Seamus said, ‘I think it is beautiful.’

‘Francis is a big loss to us; the house is never the same again.’

Having paid tribute to so many for their support over the past twelve months, Seamus said, ‘It was an extremely difficult year; there were ups and downs, but the community’s support carried us through it.’

He went on to thank his brother William and John Scannell for completing the base of the seat, and to Ruairí O’Dwyer and his team for designing the seat.

The event came to a conclusion with Carrie O’Shea leading the large attendance in a rendition of Jim Crowley’s famous composition, ‘As I Leave Behind Neidín.’