100th birthday celebration was an outpouring of appreciation and love

IT MAY have been a celebration of her 100th birthday, but when the guest of honour sang a verse of Danny Boy along with the Celtic Tenors, it showed that Brannockstown woman Norah Breslin was very much on top form.

The event in the Killashee Hotel was also an outpouring of appreciation and love for someone who, through her long life, has made an impact on everyone that she met. Family, friends and members of the local community recounted Norah’s fierce love for her family, her service in faith to the community, and her many practical initiatives to help others through life.

Norah’s seventh son, Martin, opened the tributes, providing first a short résumé of her childhood in an English coal-mining town, where her hard work, diligence and intelligence earned her a scholarship to graduate school. Norah married Irishman Dan Breslin a month before her 25th birthday.

Noting that reaching the age of 100 is “an incredible longevity milestone that commands respect”, Martin said that longevity alone is not something that inspires, but how somebody lives can do so. “She raised 11 children. She supported my father’s business. She carried responsibility wherever it needed to be carried and she did so consistently, quietly and without complaint.”

Speaking of her faith, he said it was expressed in commitment and service to others. “Decade after decade, she was church organist, director of the choir, giving her time, talent and energy to parish life. We are celebrating the character of the lady, how she lived the principles and the values that she chose to make her own – which, we might note, are the same values and principles that anyone can make their own.”

A busy mix of great love, hard work and constant care was how Norah’s daughter Cathy described her mother’s life, each day beginning with a cup of tea and after that planning around the schedule of the family. “You were in a busy household, and always put our needs first, before your own. I remember you often staying up late at night to sew, iron clothes, sometimes hanging curtains, and making preparations for the next day.”

Cathy described a mother’s love as “an unyielding force”, combining sacrifice, protection and patience, that puts a child’s safety, happiness, and well-being above all else. “You taught us music and storytelling, and I have vivid memories of you teaching us how to preserve and store apples, making jams, and making our clothes.”

Cathy also recalled her mother’s fortitude as her children emigrated to find work in the UK, Germany and the United States. “You always encouraged our independence, and you bravely waved goodbye. You taught us resilience and how to keep going forward, even when life disappoints and changes our course.”

Norah’s grandson Daniel, whose father Donal died when he was very young and who recently lost his sister Lorna, said his grandmother’s greatest work had been her children and the effort she had put into them. Describing Norah as a gardener whose greatest garden has been her family, he recalled the relevant adage that ‘tend to your garden and the garden tends back to you’.

“That’s what I see in how much her own children are nurturing her now, looking after her. Granny is, I think, that kind of star that we all unite under.”

Noel Clare spoke for the community, recalling that as a youngster he was “almost adopted” into the Breslin family. “We all have great memories of the friendship, of the good times we had, particularly in our teenage years. It didn’t matter who you were or what you did – and, God knows, we did some wild things – we were always welcome and always accepted.”

He recalled Norah’s involvement in setting up a Brannockstown branch of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association, which became a tremendous focal point for local women. “It wasn’t so much about the skills they were learning as it was the coming together, the community, and getting out of isolation.” She also started a youth group, which became a very successful outlet for young people.

Noel also touched on the Community Capers through the 1970s, where Norah Breslin was hugely involved with the Brannockstown area, and concluded with a reflection of the “ripple effect” that Norah has had on those around her. “She touched so many people, and they in turn go on to work with other people and enrich their lives as well. What she has done will continue forever after to enrich not just the communities of Brannockstown and Kilcullen, but much further afield.”

Speaking for the Kilcullen Church Choir, PJ Lydon remarked on the more than 60 years of completely voluntary service that Norah had given to the parish, which in recent years was recognised by the awarding of a Benemerenti Medal by Pope Francis. “Many of us learned harmonies from you, some of us learned discipline. All of us learned kindness and dedication. You shaped the sound of the choir, and the spirit of the parish, and the memories of generations.”

Following the entertainment for the evening, which included Oliver Callan and the aforementioned Celtic Tenors, some of Norah’s great-grandchildren helped blow out four cakes with a total of 100 candles.

Even with those extinguished, the light of the occasion shone on.