Three communities had the honour and benefit of Kay Whelan’s loving personality: Pearse Street, Ringsend and Trim. She certainly got around and left her mark on each of these communities.

Kay had the gift to motivate people that she came in contact with, encouraging them to make the most of their lives. She will be remembered for her organisational skills and committment to bringing happiness to many.

Who can ever forget her ‘Burlington Bertie’ or herself and Nancy’s ‘Couple of Swells’? We brought the house down with pride when they were winners in the Docklands over-60s Talent Competition in the Abbey. They were a class act.

Of course Nancy and the McCabe family were also neighbours of ours in Pearse Street and Ringsend’s gain was our loss when so many of our local talented people were exported.

So my humble few words of tribute are also a tribute to Nancy and her lifelong friendship with Kay. Nancy was the sister that Kay never had and as Nancy told me they would always have to be friends, as they both knew where the bodies were buried. All of us who had the pleasure and benefit of Kay Whelan’s love, good humour and loyalty share Nancy’s loss.

My special relationship with Kay was as a next-door neighbour and as a role model. Her involvement with community work started here in the parish of St. Andrew’s and she was always open and available to us for advice and direction over the years.

The family moved to Ringsend when this community was depopulated but she never forgot her roots. She loved to come back to us and was always proud and encouraging to us in our work in Pearse Street.

She will be a loss to the Ringsend Variety Group. When the Group gave their annual performance at the South Dock Festival in St. Andrew’s Resource Centre, I would be brought up on stage and she would put me through my paces with their final number ‘That’s Entertainment’. Kay Whelan didn’t grow old gracefully, she didn’t even grow old disgracefully, she just never grew old.

So that’s my memories of a Class Act and an old trouper so Kay, on your next appearance wherever it may be, ‘BREAK A LEG’
Betty Ashe

Kay Whelan was a very committed member of Ringsend Parish where she was involved in many activities. For her tireless work in the community she was elected Lord Mayor of Ringsend, won the Irish Life Pensioner of the Year and also a Sean Moore Award.

Kay worked very closely with the residents of Cambridge Court, where she ran holidays, outings, keep-fit classes and many other activities. As a founder member of the Active Retirement Group, Kay, as usual, threw herself wholeheartedly behind the principle of older people being active.

She, with her life-long friend Nancy, won a prize in the Dublin Docklands Development Authority’s Talent Competition.

Truly, a remarkable woman and a staunch friend to so many. She will be sadly missed. May she rest in peace.
Carmel Magee

Kay Whelan (above) with Nancy McCabe at their Abbey triumph as a Couple of Swells and right, with Carmel Magee.