WESTLIFE stars turned up to support Louis Walsh as the band manager paid a final farewell to his beloved mum.
The X Factor star’s mum Maureen, nee Healy, who lived in Kiltimagh, Co Mayo, passed away on Monday, June 2, aged 94 following a lengthy illness.
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The mother-of-nine had been battling Alzheimer’s for the past decade, with Louis telling Woman Magazine in 2015: “She doesn’t know me. But she’s fine, healthy and happy and doesn’t know any better.”
She was remembered locally as the “warmhearted matriarch” of a large and close-knit family.
Apart from Louis, Maureen, who was predeceased by her husband, Frank, is also survived by daughters Evelyn (O’Connor), and Sara (Keogh), sons, Paul, Frank, Eamon, Padraic, Joseph and Noel and their extended family members.
She is also survived by 19 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The funeral mass took place in the nearby Church of the Holy Family at 12 noon today and was followed by the burial in Kilkinure Cemetery.
Louis, who wore a black suit with a white shirt and black tie, looked distraught as he walked behind the coffin to the church.
Dozens of family, friends and locals gathered outside on the streets to follow the hearse and pay their final respects.
Luminaries from the music world including Westlife stars Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne joined brokenhearted family, neighbours and friends.
Kian was pictured with his arm around Louis after the funeral mass.
While Shane and his wife Gillian both looked emotional as they walked hand-in-hand together to the ceremony.
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Former Eurovision singer Dana also was also seen showing her support for her beloved pal.
Michael English, the 94 year old’s favourite country music singer, sang a selection of hymns at her funeral Mass in the Church of the Holy Family, close to the neat home where she reared eight children.
In a touching eulogy, one of Maureen’s daughters, Sara Keogh described her as “extraordinary”.
She stated: “We celebrate all the 94 years of the extraordinary woman Maureen was and the incredible mark she left on all of us.
“We had a great upbringing. We wanted for nothing. She pushed us to make the best of ourselves – she didn’t do a bad job, I think.”
Sara spoke of the lifelong hospitality shown by her mother to all comers, at all hours, her ability as a cook and homemaker.
She recalled her mother going to work for Western Care Association, which provides services to people with intellectual disabilities and neurodiverse needs, in the 1970s.
‘KINDNESS AND LOVE’
She added: “This gave her a new lease of life. She loved every minute of it. This was where she made some of her best friends in life”.
Her son Frank, told mourners, Maureen was at the heart of her family’s lives.
He said: “We all loved her, respected her. She was a woman of great strength, loyalty and grace.
“Her life was not one of enormous gestures but countless small actions of goodness, kindness and love.
“She was hardworking, had great faith and found joy in the simple things.
Mourners were told that GAA matches, playing cards; 25 and Bridge, as well as country music, set dancing, and fancy dress were amongst the loves of Maureen’s life.
Fr Michael Quinn, chief celebrant of the funeral Mass, spoke of the immense loss to Maureen’s family; her eight children, 20 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
He went on to describe her as a person of great faith with particular devotion to Padre Pio.
Symbols carried to the altar included Maureen’s Rosary beads, a picture of Padre Pio, a Mayo flag, a transistor radio noting the endless satisfaction she got from listening to local Midwest Radio, a rolling pin (love of baking), a family photo, a pack of cards and a copy of her favourite reading material, Ireland’s Own magazine.
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