Tierney survived the 1916 Rising, two world wars and two pandemics, the Spanish flu and coronavirus, a century apart, and died Wednesday in the loving care of her family.
Mourners gathered at St Joseph’s Church in Loughduff, Co Cavan, for the funeral mass of Ms Tierney, mother of nine, grandmother of 30, great grandmother of 49 and great grandmother of four. .
“She was a celebrity to all of us here in the parish,” said Father PJ Hughes, parish priest.
Regarding Tierney’s funeral mass, he said that it was a sad event because Tierney was his mother. “No matter how long a mother lives, the death of a mother is a sad thing for a family,” he said, adding that each member of the group held their last moments with Tierney. I looked back on my memories.
Sarah, who is one of 30 grandchildren, shed light on Ms Tierney, whom she describes as her “precious grandma”, by reciting a poem she wrote, which she wrote when she was a child. I had done it many times before.
“You were always second to none when it came to mom and grandma. You were the center of our world, we knew you would always be there,” she began. Ta.
She said Ms Tierney sat in a comfortable chair in her “beautiful” kitchen and everyone who entered the house was greeted with her “kind smile”, a kiss on the hand and a “God bless you”. He talked about how he was welcomed.
Children came and went, running around and coloring, but she “never raised her voice or screamed when we were happy,” said her grandson Sarah. .
“We’re so happy to have you in our lives. We really couldn’t have had anyone else,” she added.
Tierney’s son, Tom, thanked Father Hughes for praying with him regularly and the many caregivers who came to his mother’s home over the decades.
He recalled how she became so fond of one such carer, Margaret, that when she walked through the door she brushed off everyone else who was there.
He said he was surprised to see the number of people calling his home over the past few days asking for “a simple person like a grandma.”
Tierney doesn’t drink or smoke, eats only home-grown fresh food, has never flown on a plane, has always loved politics and walked to the Granado to hear Michael Collins speak as a child. I even remember that.
“I’ve voted in every election since I got the right to vote, and I’m proud of that,” Tierney said.
After becoming a widow in 1983, she decided to work as hard on the farm as her husband Patrick, and her daughter Kitty previously described her as “a tower of strength for all of us”.
A prayer book and rosary beads were brought to the altar to symbolize her strong faith, which she prayed every day in front of her kitchen for most of her life.
Tierney’s love of nature was symbolized by the bird food brought to the altar. Her mourners heard how she liked to place various bird feeders around her garden and observe birds of all sizes and types from her kitchen.
Mr Tierney was particularly delighted when nearly 40 pigeons flew into his garden and onto his window sill, but one day he had to call his son Tom to kill the crows that had arrived. I had to.
A cup of oatmeal porridge was brought to the altar. She begins each day with a large cup of porridge, reflecting “one of her secrets to living a long and healthy life.”
Tierney’s crown topper was also carried to the altar and, as mourners heard, was worn to “keep her hair beautiful” and became Tierney’s “symbolic attire.”
The family tree was also featured as a final symbol of her long and fruitful life.
“As we know, Grandma was at the heart of a very large and wonderful family. It’s all our job now to make sure it doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” mourners heard.
