Tributes paid to "kind and compassionate" 81-year-old woman whose body was found in her home in West Waterford
Noreen Daly sang at her neighbours' Chloe and Peter's wedding.
Noreen Daly, an art college principal and one of the first members of the cabin crew with Aer Lingus, has been described as “a force for nature with a zest for life”. Her body was found at her home in West Waterford last Monday, June 15.
Her funeral took place in Granagh in County Cork on Sunday, June 21. The huge church was packed with people and there was an overflow outside.
The pensioner was a native of Ballygarvan in Co Cork. She moved to Grenagh in Co Cork as a youngster when her family sold their land to facilitate the development of Cork Airport.
At the funeral, her niece Therese Walsh told mourners that Noreen had a great capacity to make people feel seen.
She said that Noreen had lived an “incredible life”, marrying the “love of her life” Michael, in 1969, in Paris. Two years later, she enrolled in the College of Art and Design in Kildare Street in Dublin.
Her “great passion” for art led to her ultimately becoming the Principal of the College of Art and Design in Dun Laoghaire.
Therese said that her “remarkable” aunt had a enormous enthusiasm for education and helped countless students reach their potential.
She said that no words could possibly sum up the “amazing woman" they were honoured to have had in their lives.
“Noreen’s heart was a garden of such beautiful flowers and those flowers never died even in the hardest times. She was a force of nature with a zest for life. While our hearts are heavy with grief they are also filled with gratitude and countless memories she has gifted us.
She showered us with pure love and showed us how to become courageous. Noreen you had a way of making people feel special – making people feel seen in a world where people are unseen.”
The Waterford News & Star spoke to her friends and neighbours in the Ardsallagh area. They all described her as a “kind-hearted” and “generous” person who was “very active in the community.” Peter and Chloe O’Mara moved to the area in 2018. Peter began helping Noreen with her garden and thus a friendship blossomed.
“She sang at our wedding, she was an unbelievable opera singer," Peter told the Waterford News & Star.
He continued that Noreen loved nature and that he “learned a lot from her about gardening.” He explained that Noleen and her late husband, Micheal, bought a house in Ardsallagh around two decades ago and would spend their summers in West Waterford whilst spending the rest of the year in Monkstown, Dublin.
However, after her husband’s death in 2023 following a long illness, Noreen began to spend more time in Ardsallagh.
Just eight weeks before her death, Noreen permanently relocated to West Waterford.
“We’re devastated,” Chloe told the News & Star.
“She was an angel, all she was missing was wings,” Peter added.
In a post on social media, the Clashmore and Kinsalebeg community page wrote: “She was very much involved in the local community and got involved in traditional music, Blackwater Opera Festival, Ardmore Choir, Tai Chi, Clashmore exercise classes to name just a few.”
They continued: “Noreen was 81 but she would not like to be described as elderly. She saw this move as the next stage of her life where she was going to carry on exploring and learning. Every day involved meeting her friends and doing new things.”
The post finished with: “She was a kind, caring and generous person who loved her and Mike’s extended family. All who knew her will feel this loss for a very long time.”
Grenagh Parish priest, Fr Micheal O’Loingsigh said Noreen was a “kind compassionate person”.
“She saw the good in everyone and wanted to help everyone in whatever way she could. Above all for you she was a dear sister, an aunt that you are heartbroken after her passing. "Maybe we should remember again her love of life. Her death does not define her life.”
In a statement to the Waterford News & Star, TD for West Waterford Conor McGuinness said: “This is a deeply sad and shocking incident and my thoughts are with Noreen who has died and with her family, friends and neighbours as they come to terms with this terrible loss.” He continued: “There has been a real sense of shock and concern in the local community over the past days.”
Local councillor, Pat Nugent, who is from the area, told the Waterford News & Star: “It’s a huge tragedy. There is now a darkness over this beautiful, idyllic place.” He continued that he met Noreen on two occasions and was struck by how “she loved the little things, like wildflowers”.
Noreen was laid to rest at St Lacteen’s cemetery. She is survived by her siblings Teddy Murphy, Tessie Walsh, Lelia Bolster, Ann Humphreys and Kitty O’Donerty whom she “adored beyond measure”.
She is also mourned by her brothers-in-law Batt and Kevin, sisters-in-law Bernie, Sheila and Sheilagh, nieces, nephews, cousins, neighbours and friends.
