Southside mourns Maeve’s passing

THE Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, led tributes to the Southside author Maeve Binchy who passed away last week.

“I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to Gordon Snell on the death of his wife Maeve Binchy,

? he said.

“Maeve was incredibly generous in every way but in particular she was generous with her own time. Despite the fact that she was a hugely successful author around the world, she never lost the human touch and would always make a point of taking time to talk to passers-by, well-wishers and supporters.

“While she was a national treasure with an international reputation, Dalkey was the place she called home, and up to very recently, nothing gave her greater pleasure than being out and about in the village, meeting friends and neighbours in local cafes and restaurants.

“Maeve was more than a writer,

? he added.

“She was a storyteller, and one of the best storytellers that Ireland has ever produced. Her lasting legacy will be the warmth and kindness that she imbued through her writing and through her own personality to her friends and her readers in every corner of the globe.

?

Taoiseach Enda Kenny also offered his condolences on her passing, declaring:

“We have lost a national treasure. Across Ireland and the world people are mourning and celebrating Maeve Binchy. She is a huge loss wherever stories of love, hope, generosity and possibility are read and cherished.

“We as a nation we are thankful for and proud of the writer and the woman.

?

She was buried after a simple mass in Dalkey on Friday morning.