As he battled back emotions while paying tribute to his mother at her funeral, RTE star Joe Duffy recounted to mourners how his mother Mabel fought off thugs in the middle of the night with a curtain rail. Mabel, 94 years old, died on Sunday at Kiltipper Woods Care Centre. The Liveline anchor paid tribute to his cherished mother during her funeral mass at St Matthews Church in Ballyfermot, Dublin, including memories about how she fought off robbers with a curtain rail when they tried to rob her some years ago.
Mabel Duffy is a pure soul and a lovely wife:
Joe’s management firm, NK Management, issued a brief statement “Mabel Duffy, Joe Duffy’s beloved mother, passed away on Sunday afternoon in Kiltipper Woods Care Centre surrounded by her adoring family, according to NK Management.” Mabel Duffy was a “loving wife of the late Jimmy, cherished mother to James, Joseph, Peter, Brendan, and Pauline, predeceased by her youngest son Aidan (25),” according to her death announcement. Her loving family, sisters Monica and Patsy, in-laws Bernard, Stephen, and Marie, nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbours will miss her terribly. Wayne, Geoffrey, Ciara, Ian, Emma, Darragh, Seana, Conor, Ellen, Seán, Ronan, and her great-grandchildren are among her grandchildren.”
The final tribute for her and a heartbreaking time for Joe:
Joe’s RTE colleagues Miriam O’Callaghan and Marty Whelan and former broadcaster Sean O’Rourke and musician Red Hurley were in attendance for the burial mass, as was a representative of President’s President Michael D Higgins. Mabel had been a regular visitor to the church when it first opened 45 years ago until she suffered a stroke in 2020 and had to relocate to a care facility in Kiltipper. Joe, who frequently spoke on the radio about his adored mother, remembered how she fought off would-be burglars with a curtain rail and carried the deeds to their Ballyfermot family home in her handbag.”On Mabel’s birthday in 1929, Ireland’s new Dail was debating whether or not to close workhouses that had functioned in the country since before the famine. On RIP, hundreds of people have already expressed their condolences and support for Joe and his family. “So very sorry to hear the terrible news of your beautiful Mam’s passing,” one person commented. “She was a nice gentle lady, and I enjoyed having a word with her whenever I met her at the shops.” Heartfelt condolences to Mabel’s entire family. Let her soul rest in peace.
Read Also – How did Patti Tobiasz die?
