Máire Teresa Brennan

Máire was born on October 15th, 1935 in Dublin, Ireland to Mary “May” and Andrew Byrne. She was one of eight children.

Máire is preceded in death by her loving husband Richard, her siblings Bernard, Oliver and Carmel Byrne. She is survived by her three sons – Bernard, Richard, and Eamonn; her four daughters – Yvonne Crist, Paula Fay, Catherine Wrightstone, Sinead Coll and their respective spouses; her twenty grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Máire retired in 2008 after 10 years of service at Publix.

Máire will be remembered above all as a loving, devoted wife and mother and humanitarian who gave freely to those in need, and for her tremendous love of the arts.

As expressions of sympathy, the family asks in lieu of flowers for donations to be made to Heritage Hospice of Marietta, GA or to the United Way.

Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday August 6, 2014 at 10:30 AM at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Pine Ridge Memorial Park.

The family will receive friends Monday Aug. 4 between the hours of 6 until 8 PM with a Prayer Service at 7:30.

A Perfect Tribute to Our Mam

Written by Eamonn Brennan

Read at Mammy’s Funeral

A Mhathair Dilis (For Beloved Mammy) – Maidin maith a dhaoine uisle, go raibh mile maith agaibh agus failte romaibh a Soicrid ar mhathair, Máire (Thank you all and welcome to the funeral of our mother, Máire).

An focail O an Amhran (The words of a song).

The words of a song “then fly to her side and make her your own or all through your life you may dream all alone” now echo across time and distance from this earthly place to a Heavenly realm. The words sound almost like a prayer and evoke an idea of our mother’s life which for her despite its share of heartaches and hard times, was indeed a dream she did not dream alone but with us all.

To be sure, the last 13 months since losing her beloved husband Richard has been for her a heart ache beyond measure and truly “the worst of times” as Charles Dickens wrote. And yet despite her pain and sorrow, our mam showed us all the truest and purest form of love “A Mother’s Love” in a life well lived. Today, I stand before you to celebrate and remember this remarkable and extraordinary very Irish Mother.

Our mam was a beautiful soul. She was brave, kind, strong and loving. A woman of conviction, intelligence, a natural teacher, a gifted and instructive artist who could have accomplished great things as an actress, were it not for the social convention of her time that prevented her pursuit of a passion for acting in Ireland.

“The moon will not shine on your beauty again” is the last line of a poem entitled The Flattered Flying Fish by E.V. Rieu; our mam’s party piece. At family events and parties she took great delight in reciting this poem and “acting” it out with funny gestures and expressions. This was all accomplished with great aplomb and comedic restraint. She was and could be genuinely funny. After all, she had a plethora of unique expressions that we all heard over and over again. She would for example put food in the oven to keep it warm on the “retain- to-heat.” Or she would have to “poss-out” some clothes. Indeed while she lay ill in the hospital recently, my sister Catherine and I were sitting with her and encouraging her to attempt physical therapy, she smiled at us and simply said she wasn’t sure she could do the physical therapy because she thought her legs were really a bit “bockedy.”

Our home was filled with music and carefully planned family and neighborhood gatherings where music, storytelling and performing were expected and commonplace. There were no excuses and, of course, no “cake and tea” until you had done so. Practicing and rehearsing were required and with our mam’s firm and determined persuasion, we did our best to make her proud. This morning you’ve heard the result of our mam’s guiding hand and passion from my beautiful sisters. I think you’ll agree; they did her proud. As part of the Offertory Procession earlier in mam’s mass, Ray, Eamonn, Amy and Kieran brought up items which represented the most important parts and things of her life – our dad, her family and faith, and her love of music and the arts.

Our mam’s life of self-sacrifice for others was not a waste of her talents and abilities or a sad reflection of a promise never fulfilled. No, it was indeed a shining example of a purpose filled life which resulted in her greatest accomplishment a devoted husband and family who will carry with them always her love for family, the arts and humanity. The ideals of true equality, justice, and liberty were seeds planted very early by her in each of us. She would often say, “you may not be better than anyone else but by golly you are every bit as good and don’t you ever forget that.” Our mam believed in charitable giving, never forgetting the poor and those in need. Her first teacher in those Christian acts was her father who modeled this behaviour and when seeing someone in need would say “if you are able, you should help those less fortunate because you never know if that person in need is Jesus in disguise.”

Our mam was certainly of Ireland, undoubtedly an Irish woman of her generation, a lady, but she was not bound by all of her Generation’s dictates and conventions. Immigrating to America was for her truly a new beginning; a new life of personal discovery and empowerment which she fully embraced. “It was the best of times.” She loved her new home and becoming a U.S. citizen in March 2013 symbolized for her a realization of all those ideals America holds of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all.

She embodied those ideals and lived them as an Irish woman, as an American and as a devoted wife and mother. Even as she lay dying in her home, “the worst of times,” her concern was only for each of us and how we were doing. She expressed her gratitude to us all over and over again for “minding” her so well and asked our forgiveness for the times she was ever cross with each of us. There was and is nothing to forgive mam. Her serenity and acceptance was a gift we were privileged to see and receive. We had more than our fair share of angels around us again including our Hospice angels who helped care for our mam so beautifully. She was so grateful for that as we all are and always will be.

I have shared the last twenty years of my life with my mam as I did with my dad and our family has during the last thirteen months and last few days of her life had the chance to care for her. We have truly seen “the best of times and the worst of times.” Through it all, we have found our mam’s greatest gift to us all has been her abiding love for each of us, her grace and serenity. She calmed our fears and assured us that she was not afraid as she started on her final journey home. (Be not afraid). She showed us how to live and she showed us how to die. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to have had the last twenty years and the last twenty days as it has been for us all. Thank you Mam! Go raibh mile maith agat a Mhathair.

“Is fada an bothar mbionn casadh ann.” (It is a long road that has no turning). Our Mam has travelled her long road and she has taken her final turn home, home to a better and more perfect place, to be with her Heavenly family. “Death leaves a heart ache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”

“It is a far far better thing that I do than I have ever done. It is a far far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

“There is but one and only one whose love will fail you never. One who lives from sun to sun, with constant fond endeavour. There is but one and only one, on earth there is no other. In heaven a noble work was done, when God gave us a Mother.”

The final words of the song I began with are “once you have found her, never let her go, once you have found her, never let her go” we have let you go now Mam, we have let you go to be with Dad. We know you are happy and at peace.

Slan go foill a mhathair dilis agus dia dhuit I gconai (bye for now beloved Mam and God be with you always).

Go raibh mile mhaith agaibh (thank you all very much).