Nell Gough.A life well lived.

In mid May 2012 I had to attend Our Lady's Hospital ,Navan,for personal reasons.I encountered there Breda Gough and a number of her sisters ,who were present to keep vigil on their beloved mother Nell,who was poorly at the time,despite having staged a miraculous recovery  previously as a result of the  intercession of  Padre Pio,whose glove they had sourced for her benefit.
She was one lucky woman.She was never without family present there,a reflection of the love she had lavished on her family during a long and and proper life ,lived for the benefit of her husband and children.
She shuffled off this mortal coil in the early hours of May 28th surrounded by all her family,whose grief was bottomless.
Nell was from the well respected Conway family from Hallltown,one of a dozen children of Pat Conway and Mary (Garry)  and was the second eldest,having been predeceased by her eldest sister Molly (Coogan) and last August by her brother John.Her first cousin Richie (Dickeen) from Faughan Hill sadly passed away a few short weeks ago .
The Conways were reared beside my own Mother's people the Mc Cormacks and I know that in the times they were young both families got nothing easy.They were tempered in hardship and the moral fibre  implanted in them by their parents has stood them in good stead in tackling life's vissitudes and has been transmitted by them to their many offspring.There is no such thing as a bad Conway ,only good ones and better ones.Take this from one who knows.
Nell was one of the best and married the love of her life Johnny Gough  from Navan.Her sister Lily  married his brother "the Hare "and many many double first cousins were created since.
Nell and Johnny reared a large family together ,as you would expect from a married couple of their conviction and spiritual belief , a family that have immersed themselves to the advantage of the wider community in which they have settled,both here and abroad.
She was waked in the house in Meadstown,a wake I attended.It is no exaggeration to say that next to the Fair Day,there was not a bigger crowd in the Parish this year.Car parking stewards
were present to keep the traffic flowing and the road clear and a huge queue worked its way slowly into the house to pay respects to the deceased.
Of sustenance there was plenty ,bit like the loaves and the fishes and both myself and all who attended were overwhelmed by the hospitality all the family and indeed their families extended to all and sundry.
The Church was packed on Wednesday for the Funeral Mass and the majority could not gain admission.All were grief stricken and the sight of all the children ,Rosie (Allen ) and children Robbie and Duane who live in Wicklow,Patricia (Finnegan ),Hayestown,Navan and children Amanda and Ronan,son Raymond ,Kildare,and children Siobhan,Eamonn and Martin,Helen (Smith) and children Wayne and Caoimhe,Frances (Egan),Galway and children John,Helen,Liam and Naoimh,Pauline (Maguire ),Kilmessan,son Sean and children Charles,Tiffany and Michaela,son Patrick  (England ) and children John and Conor, Breda (Keenan) and children Dylan,Holly ,Adam and Ellie,Noleen (O Neill)  ,Ballivor and children Shaun,KIllian ,Harry and Ava and daughter Sinead, and their respective spouses would bring tears to the stoniest heart.
The huge extended family,her good neighbours,the entire community ,Dundery GAA and Camogie Clubs ,which have had and continue to have the playing,mentoring and financial support of the wider clan ,will greatly miss this outstanding matriarch,but none more than her lifetime spouse Johnny.
I often pass the house and am not surprised to see the cars of several of their children parked outside at all times.
As she and Johnny reaped so is he sowing.No more than you would expect.
Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam dilis.