Ballinasloe deaths cast a long shadow
A sombre silence descended on the town of Ballinasloe earlier this week as the bodies of two lifelong friends were brought to their final resting place.
Several thousand mourners attended the removals and funerals, and business premises and banks closed their shutters as a mark of respect, as the hearses containing the remains of Deirdre Kilmartin and Maureen Dooley slowly passed along town’s Main Street.
Ballinasloe’s citizens stood in silence along the streets leading to the cemetery as the church and streets were thronged with mourners all wishing to express their sympathy to the heartbroken families.
“How do we make sense of the fact that two young women, as they often did, went for their evening walk and neither returned home? We just cannot,” said Fr Bernie Costello during his homily in St Michael’s Church.
Deirdre (54) and Maureen (55) were inseparable friends. The two were in almost daily contact having been friends since they were children.
They attended Ardscoil Mhuire girls school in Ballinasloe together and the two working mums enjoyed linking up most evenings for a walk and chat.
Maureen was a gifted teacher who taught honours maths in the Marist Convent in Athlone. A couple of days before her death she was a proud spectator at the Sportsground in Galway to watch her son Odhran win a senior schools cup medal with Garbally College.
Maureen from Garbally Demesne, Ballinasloe, is also survived by her husband Aidan, daughter Lauren, son Cian and parents Albie and Eileen Flanagan.
Aidan was a member of the Roscommon team that were defeated by Kerry in the 1980 All-Ireland final.
Deirdre, from Shralea, Ballinasloe, worked in a local veterinary business and in her spare time was a driver for Meals on Wheels. She is survived by her husband Kieran Kilmartin, daughter Emma, son James and parents Declan and Evelyn Flanagan. Declan Flanagan is a well-known vet in Ballinasloe.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.