By 
THE funeral has taken place of well-known Omagh woman Manna McGuigan, a cherished mother and grandmother who was once regarded as one of the town’s finest hairdressers.
Kathleen McGuigan, better known as Manna, was the eldest of 12 children and the daughter of the late Terry and Anne Keyes.
Born in 1943, she was raised in the Brookmount Crescent area of Omagh alongside her 11 siblings.
As a teenager, Manna travelled to Dublin where she trained as a hairdresser with her aunt.
She later returned to Omagh and opened her own salon on Castle Street, quickly earning a reputation as one of the town’s most skilled and respected hairdressers.
Over the years, generations of women passed through her salon, leaving not only looking better, but feeling better too.
She met her late husband John at a dance, and the couple spent many happy years travelling throughout Ireland.
They had two daughters, Ursula and the late Siobhan.
Siobhan was born with a disability and required constant care during her short life, care which Manna provided with unwavering devotion.
Following Siobhan’s passing, Manna worked in Gormley’s shop for a decade, where she became a familiar and much-loved face in the town.
Manna was a proud grandmother to Eve and Alice, who were described as ‘the lights of her life’ by Fr Malachy Gallagher during her Requiem Mass in Sacred Heart Church, Omagh.
Paying tribute, Fr Gallagher spoke of the lasting impact she had through her work, noting that generations of women had come through her Castle Street salon and left not only looking better, but feeling better too.
Manna will be sadly missed by her daughter, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, neighbours and her many friends.
