Editorial: Remembering the late Kathleen Fitzgerald
The late Kathleen Fitzgerald. Photo: Terry Murphy
There are points in the life of a city that become markers between its past, present and future. Waymarks that people speak of and recognise as defining particular eras. And then there are people. Those who carve the waymarks, usually starting in small, less discernible ways. However, by the time they've moved on, their input has woven itself into the tapestry of people and place.
Kathleen Fitzgerald was such a woman.
In 2023, the sat down with Kathleen to reflect on the section of Waterford city that came to be defined by her and her family over five decades. That story was published in that year, and is available to read on the Waterford News & Star website under the title 'George's Court: Stepping into history'.
Back in the 1970's George's Court Shopping Centre didn't exist in its present form. A deeply historic section of Waterford city, it had borne witness to the Bianconi Company's mega stagecoach enterprise (hence the name The Stable Yard was later incorporated) and Waterford city's only Catholic church during penal times, where worshippers came in secret due to the anti-Catholic reign of Henry VIII - using the labyrinth of medieval lanes between current day Barronstrand Street, George's Street, and the Quay to evade detection.
But fast-tracking to the 1970s, retail was at a pivotal point in Waterford city - and Kathleen Fitzgerald, alongside her late husband Liam, were among the key people to recognise the direction it needed to go in.
Kathleen was always an entrepreneur at heart. She established 'Mother Needs' in 1971 in the Apple Market, a mother and baby shop that came before Mothercare and other well-known baby brands arrived on the scene.
She was ahead of the curve.
She moved shop to 22 George's Street in 1976, acquiring the Sportsman Toy Shop with her husband and later the George's Street side of the once legendary Hearne's Department Store.
In 1981, George's Court Shopping Centre was developed, opening on December 1 that year with 13 shops. It must have created quite the buzz in the city that Christmas.
Pedestrianisation of George's Street followed, not long after similar had happened on Dublin's Grafton Street. Kathleen would always have been well aware of the direction of travel.
Together, with her husband Liam, they were an entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with; they were determined and they had vision.
A fire at Mother Needs' 22 George's Street premises in 1979 that destroyed not only Kathleen's beautiful shop but also their family home was devastating but became a catalyst for action. The shopping centre, pedestrianisation - which eventually extended to the whole of John Roberts Square by the 1990s, and the establishment of a car park that could provide for 300 vehicles on the quay in conjunction with other businesses, all happened under the Fitzgerald's watch.
George's Court has not been without its challenges - as has been the experience of all retail in Waterford, in particular since the advent of online shopping, but a can-do attitude has always been at the heart of the Fitzgerald family, championed in more recent years by Kathleen and Liam's children and their families.
Kathleen served as President of Waterford Chamber, President of Waterford Rotary Club, was instrumental in the establishment of the John Roberts Festival, celebrating the renowned architect and his imprint on the city, and much more besides.
A formidable woman, she did Waterford some important and crucial service. May she Rest in Peace.
The extends our deepest condolences and gratitude to her son Bill, daughter Lisa and her extended family.
