A tribute to our dear Geraldine

The loss of our former colleague and lovely friend, Geraldine Greene, earlier this month has shocked us all at Westmeath Examiner and within the wider Celtic Media Group.

A handful of us knew she was battling with cancer for some time, and it was a battle which she chose to undertake with the utmost courage, within the privacy of the loving care of her own tight family and friends.

The life remembrance ceremony on Saturday week last heard so much about her creativity, love of nature and love of people. She (and her older brother Terry) had lost their Mum, Dad and brother Dermot, to illness over the previous four years, yet Terry described Geraldine as the source of his strength, and said he is so proud of the two wonderful daughters she had reared.

She was a Dub, who had worked in London and New York, before relocating to live with her two beautiful daughters, Fiona and Ciara (and her beloved dogs) in Killucan, and then to her stone cottage in Monilea, off the Castlepollard road, which she refurbished with gusto and much hard work.

Ger joined Westmeath Examiner in what was then called “pre-press” (now graphic design) in 2000, having worked in Rapid Print in Longford and the Topic for a couple of years before that.

She was so much fun to work with, had a great giggle, and loved a night out. A colleague from those days, Una D’Arcy, recalled in a condolence how “many years ago, I offered to leave someone home from a Christmas party – we thought it was few miles away, but it ended up taking a few hours – Ger came with me to keep me company and I still remember we laughed the whole way there and home”.

In those condolences on rip.ie, another colleague, Edel Nulty said: “I have fond memories of Geraldine, and she always talked about her girls.”

Former Examiner sports editor, Paul Hughes, said: “We’ll never forget your warmth and kindness, not to mention the oasis of calm you were on deadline days.”

As Celtic Media Group expanded its integrated publishing system network, Geraldine was central to our projects in newspaper titles ranging from Dublin People Group to Cork Independent to Connaught Telegraph in Castlebar.

All in those titles found her to be a patient, organised tutor as she guided their journalists and salespeople through the new system. And they so enjoyed working with such an upbeat and funny person.

We all recall her vitality. We remember her being the person who got us all donating money and clothes to those badly impacted by flood damage in Athlone some years back.

We remember that she was the organiser (at short notice) of the Westmeath Examiner float at the St Patrick’s Day Parade in 2007 (the Examiner was 125 years old) and she led us, including Fiona and Ciara, through the streets of Mullingar on what was a day of torrential downpours. She smiled and giggled her way through the deluge!

One of her ex-colleagues, Ronan Casey, left a lovely condolence message that “she had a great presence and was terrific fun to work with. I remember fondly her ‘sidelines’ – be it greetings cards; Christmas cards or other artistic creations – which we happily bought”.

Her former boss, Joe Tone, described her as “a very talented lady and always a pleasure to work with”.

Geraldine McManus, friend and former colleague at the Examiner, said: “She was a beautiful lady who I have many treasured memories of.”

Colm McSherry, recalled that “Geraldine’s friendship, kindness and creative spirit will always be remembered”.

Geraldine left the Examiner and moved her family back to Dublin in 2011 as the girls were starting college. She kept in touch with us and continued to work in the graphic design sector before embarking on the next major chapter of her life.

That involved a return to the countryside when she bought a cottage in Dowra, West Cavan in late 2019, and began her own soap making business.

I rang her to congratulate her on making this entrepreneurial leap and on her new home. She gracefully accepted the congrats but said there will be “a little pause on plans for a while”, because she had just received her cancer diagnosis.

On her coffin were mementos of her life including a photo of her beloved cat, Bella; a beautiful paper-based creation of hers; and a sunflower, reflecting in the January sunlight.

All of us who knew and worked with Ger send our fondest thoughts to Fiona, Ciara and Terry and to her family and friends. We thought so much of her.

FM