Horan, Catherine (Kitty)
November 27, 2012The death has taken place of Catherine (Kitty) Horan, Kilbree, Westport. Ages 83 years, she was a native of Ardygommon, Westport, daughter of the late James (Gary) and Delia Moran.
A seamstress by occupation, her interests in life were many and varied. Her family were always her first priority and she also had a deep interest in football, travel, reading and music. She was predeceased by her husband Michael (Mick) Horan in 1999, her brother Tommy and her sister Mary (Chicago). Kitty will be very sadly missed by her daughters Maureen, Patsy, Bridie, Geraldine, Jacqueline, Caroline and Verona (all Westport/Castlebar), sons Michael and Brendan (Westport), brother Jim Moran (Ardygommon), sister Nora (Castlebar), 28 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, sons-in-law and daughter-in-law, other relatives and many friends.
Following repose at St Aidan's Room in Islandeady, removal took place to St Patrick's Church, Islandeady by Fr Chas Guthrie. The celebrant of her funeral Mass was Fr Denis Carney. The following very touching eulogy was given by Kitty's son Michael at her funeral Mass: "Kitty Horan was a very special woman. Kitty was born in Ardygommon, Westport, one of Delia and James (Gary) Moran's five children. Kitty lost her brother Tommy prematurely to Leukaemia at a very young age and this had a profound effect on her life. Kitty's sister Mary predeceased her a few years ago.
Her brother Jim and her sister Nora whom Kitty loved dearly live in Ardygommon and Castlebar respectively. Nora and Jim recall happy times in Ardygommon stealing apples from local orchards and generally having a fun filled childhood. Kitty went to Derry National School where she met her great and life long friend Philomena Walsh. Kitty visited Philly in Sudbury, Suffolk only weeks before Philly passed away in early 2009. Kitty was very intelligent and particularly loved maths and she just narrowly missed out on a teaching scholarship at the age of fifteen. When she finished school she worked in the clerical office in Gibbons' on Shop Street, Westport, in her late teens and early twenties, accounting for money and receipts.
Kitty was a vivacious and a much sought after beautiful young woman and she always has an innate sense of style and took great pride in her appearance, never appearing in public without being immaculately turned out. She loved to dance in the local ballrooms and it was at one such dance that she met and fell in love with her future husband Michael or Mick Horan. They made a very attractive and dapper young couple and won many a prise on the dance floor. Kitty and Mick married in 1949 and went on to have a large family- seven straight girls - Maureen, Patsy, Bridie, Geraldine, Jacqueline, Caroline and Verona. Then came her two boys, Michael and Brendan. All Kitty's children loved their mother and Kitty loved each one of them and made each one feel special. She loved her sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and never forgot to mark birthdays and other occasions and always managed to slip a monetary note in their direction with a wink and a finger to her mouth. Kitty was sadly predeceased by her husband Mick Horan in 1999 in the year of their 50th Wedding Anniversary.
Kitty loved sport, particularly Gaelic Football, from her early days supporting her brother Jim on the filed and later her two sons and grandchildren. She was a real edge of the seat supporter - on one particular occasion she became so engrossed in a game in Islandeady that she unwittingly drifted out onto the field of play and the game developed around her. Someone was heard to say 'take that lady off before she gets injured'. Westport United awarded Kitty the honour of supporter of the year when the club won the Connaught Cup in 1987. Most people will know Kitty for her exceptional talent as a seamstress. If Kitty couldn't do it, well, it probably couldn't be done. People travelled form far and wide to avail of her unique genius - most would not get away as Kitty would hold them in conversation - She would later say 'Well I thought they'd never leave'. But in truth she loved to learn about people and get to know them. Many people have recounted memories of being measured up by Kitty for new and remodelled clothes.
The more difficult the challenge the more Kitty relished figuring out a solution and striving for perfection. Kitty worked at home for Poplar Lines for thirty years sowing, labelling and packaging tea towels. 400 dozen tea towels were delivered to our house every Tuesday. Kitty worked 12-14 hours per day to finish the work, the money from which essentially raised out family. We all have memories of coming home from school, having our dinner and then helping with the tea towels for a few hours before tackling out homework. Séan Walsh from Poplar Lines checked the records for me and he told me that Kitty was their longest serving and best employee. I remember that Kitty was always asked to prepare small products to potential new customers, such was the accuracy of her work. Kitty's sister Mary emigrated to America in her early twenties and her daughter Verona also lived their for almost twenty years.
Kitty loved to travel to America to visit them, where she practised the art of 'shop till you drop', not for herself, but for the her family whose inside legs and waists had been measured prior to departure, with the use of her 'Inch tape', which seemed to be a permanent fixture around her neck. She would travel out to America with two suitcases and travel home with seven. Customs control found her so endearing that rather than confiscate the seventeen pairs of Levis 501s that she had purchased for her family, that they carried her seven suitcases through the airport for her. On the one occasion that cases were opened the customs officer could only laugh when he uncovered a comfortable toilet seat. Kitty bought her own car in 1985. She worked so hard and displayed an incredible determination to pay for that car, but boy was it worth it.
It gave her a whole new lease of life and if there was an event worth being at Kitty and her Ford Focus were there. Kitty enjoyed great health right up until very recent times when a slow decline brought an end to her life at the Sacred Hearth Hospital in Castlebar. She received great care in ICU, and the B and C wards in Mayo General Hospital, but she was happiest in Saint Joseph's Unit in the Scared Heart Hospital, where Kitty received a level of care, hospitality, friendliness, empathy and professionalism that made her time there both dignified and relaxed, something that will never be forgotten by her family. The compassion and care shown by Faustina Reidy during Kitty's time in hospital will also not be forgotten. So, four siblings, nine children, twenty-eight grandchildren and a burgeoning fourteen great-grandchildren later, Kitty has left us the richer for knowing her.
And if Kitty was sending any of her family out to a funeral she might be heard say 'You can't go out like that', or, 'wait until I iron that shirt', or, 'look at that thread hanging out, wait until I cut it off' or, 'turn around until I see you'. Always the perfectionist. Kitty never took anything for granted in her life and was always thankful for the smallest of gestures. Kitty's parting salute that she said every day in hospital when her visitors were leaving her now seems very apt - "Thanks for Coming, God Bless Ye, and Safe Home'."
Courtesy of The Mayo News 27/11/12) Tweet
