RIP: Longford school pays glowing tribute to ‘dedicated and inspiring’ teacher Mary Skelly

Ballymahon Vocational School has paid a poignant tribute to one of its earliest staff members, the late Mary Skelly (née Dolan), Ballynamanagh, Colehill, Longford and formerly of Kilrooskey, Roscommon, who died peacefully in Laurel Lodge Nursing Home on Christmas Eve, December 24. 

They remembered Mary as a ‘dedicated and inspiring’ teacher and as one of the ‘foundation stones’ of Ballymahon VS. 

The school tribute read; “This weekend, we say goodbye to one of the earliest members of staff at Ballymahon Vocational School. Mary Skelly, known to many as Ms Dolan, was among the first Home Economics teachers in the school during the 1950s and was part of the old school on the Ballymulvey Road.

“Those who remember that time also recall her colleagues who have gone before her — Mr Donnelly, Mr Dowd and Ms McGrath, among others. Former students often speak fondly of Mary’s role in one of the highlights of the school year: the Christmas dinner. Prepared, cooked and served by the girls, and enjoyed all the more thanks to their careful training in table manners, it reflected both the standards and the spirit of the time.

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“These were very different days, and we salute Mary and her fellow teachers at Ballymahon Vocational School who embraced the introduction of co-education. As then Principal Mr Donnelly once recorded, it ‘was frowned upon by a substantial section of the people, but time was to prove that nothing could be more natural than having boys and girls studying together’.

“By the 1950s, Ballymahon had become a progressive centre of learning, and Ms Dolan was very much part of that progress.

“This weekend, the Management, staff and students of Ballymahon Vocational School salute Mary and thank her for her enormous contribution to the foundation stones of our school. We are proud to continue building on the strong foundations laid by such dedicated and inspiring people. Thank you, Mary. May she rest in peace.”

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Mary was predeceased by her husband Harry, and her brothers John and Peter. She is deeply regretted by her loving family, her sisters Nancy, Terry and Bridie (Cox), brother-in-law Dan, sister-in-law Kathy Skelly (London), nieces Mary and Paula, the Skelly and Byrne Family, relatives, friends, and very good neighbours especially Keith & Daphne. May she rest in peace.

Removal took place to the Church of The Sacred Heart Carrickedmond on Saturday evening, December 27. Funeral Mass took place on Sunday, December 28 followed by burial in Abbeyshrule cemetery.

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