Sadness after death of Irish Language Officer

SADLY MISSED Oonagh Uí ShúilleabhΡin.

Michael Duffy

THE staff of Mayo County Council and the wider Irish speaking community right across the county were plunged into sadness last week after the death of Oonagh Uí ShúilleabhΡin, at the age of 36.
Oonagh succumbed to her battle with illness at Galway Hospice on Wednesday last. She was a well-known figure in Mayo through her work over many years with the council, where she was the Irish Language Officer.
A native of Longford, she was known by her maiden name, Oonagh Ní Chéileachair, for the majority of her working life in Mayo before she married her husband, Caoimhín Ó SúilleabhΡin, from Kilfaul, Partry, in June. The couple were married in Ballintubber Abbey.
The Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Richard Finn, said Oonagh’s death was extremely sad for her family, friends and a major loss for all at Mayo County Council.
Her colleagues in the council also paid a heartfelt tribute to her.
“She was a wonderful, kind and generous lady, who worked tirelessly for communities and for the Irish language both in Mayo and further afield,” they stated.
Oonagh is survived by her grieving husband Caoimhín; her parents Pat and Joan Kelleher; sisters, SiobhΡn and Ita; brother SeΡn; niece Ciara; her father and mother-in-law, Eddie and Kathleen O’Sullivan; other extended family members and a wide circle of friends from her native Longford and in Mayo.
She reposed at the home of her parents at Cahir, Louisburgh, on Friday evening last before her funeral arrived on Saturday morning to Ballintubber Abbey, where her burial took place in the adjoining cemetery. May she rest in peace.