Mrs Maureen Donnelly

MRS Maureen Donnelly, who has died aged 90, arrived in the Downpatrick area in 1964 when her husband, the Rev Jim Donnelly, was appointed rector of the joint parishes of Inch and Saul.

Thus began a long and happy association with Lecale and the surrounding area. The couple immersed themselves in the history and folklore of this beautiful part of Co Down.

Maureen was already well known for her writing, which was her passion. Her column, ‘Diary of a Parson’s Wife’, in the Church of Ireland Gazette was a much loved must read aspect of this weekly newspaper in the 1960s.

Her first local book, ‘Saint Patrick and his associations with Saul and Downpatrick’, was published in 1972.  This scholarly book is still in print 50 years later in a revised form.

This was followed by ‘Patrick, Brigid and Colmcille”, a book for children, the story of the three saints supposedly buried together in Downpatrick. 

As the rhyme goes “In Down three saints one grave do fill: Brigid, Patrick and Colmcille.”

She and her son, Patrick, also co-wrote a short historical guide to Downpatrick and Lecale which was published in 1980.

In 1979 she published ‘Inch Abbey and Parish’ to celebrate the 370th anniversary of the founding of the parish of Inch, the 250th anniversary of the building of the present church and the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the Cistercian Abbey of Inch.

By 1974 Maureen had already written her most famous book, ‘The Nine Glens’, a personal look at the history, folklore and poetry of the Nine Glens of Antrim. She followed this up with an edited ‘Poetry of the Glens’ and a children’s book, ‘Three Tales of Moyle’, telling the stories of Taise, Princess of Rathlin, Deirdre of the Sorrows and The Children of Lir. Her leaflet on Finn MacCool proved a winner with the younger audience.

Although writing was her first love, Maureen soon got into broadcasting and wrote children’s stories for the BBC for over 21 years. Many readers of a certain age may remember listening to ‘One potato, Two Potato’ where Maureen’s stories were read to younger primary school children by Michael and Libby. 

Her last interview on the BBC was in 2019 when she recounted her life of writing to Owen McFadden in Radio Ulster’s ‘Time Of Our Lives’ programme which was broadcast in January of that year.

Maureen’s knowledge of local history was put to good use when she started the first bus tours of the Downpatrick area, taking in the historic religious and archaeological sites. She was asked to start up several local history groups and this she did enthusiastically and very successfully in Clough, Castlewellan, Dromara, Crossgar and Strangford. Copies of their publications can be found in local libraries and the county museum.

Perhaps one of her greatest legacies was her association with the St Patrick Centre in Downpatrick where she was on the steering committee and then for many years on the board.

Maureen had excelled at Latin in school and her knowledge of the language was invaluable as she was able to correct the text on the introduction to the tour of the exhibition (someone had got it wrong). She and the director, Tim Campbell, became great friends and her interest in the centre never waned.

Her passion for the centre also got her interested in the design and layout of the garden and she was the driving force in the development of the various themed areas, the Herb Garden, the Grace Garden, the Peace Garden and the Monk’s Garden where she donated a beautiful stone sculpture in memory of her husband.

A lady of immense talent and enthusiasm, Maureen will be remembered as the person who started the first interdenominational nursery school in Downpatrick (still thriving), the first local branch of the USPCA and the organiser of the first Peace March in the 1970s.

She touched the lives of so many people but her memory will live on in her writing. Each book or pamphlet was dedicated to a member of her family, her very last children’s book, ‘Five Famous Dogs of Ireland’, to her great-grandson, Rory.

Maureen is survived by her sons, Patrick, Mark and Timothy, and the wider family circle.

Her funeral service took place in Inch Parish Church on December 3 and she was buried with her late husband in Saul.