Poignant tributes to young mother of three

A YOUNG mother-of-three who died aged just 43 after a long battle with cancer is being remembered for the “colour and positivity” she brought to people’s lives.

Niamh O’Kane (nee Glackin), pictured, spent more than 20 years as a member of the X-Ray department at Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex. Her colleagues there said that they would ‘cherish the memories of an esteemed colleague and friend’.

Several hundred people attended the Castlederg woman’s funeral at St Patrick’s Church in the town where she lived all her life. At the Requiem Funeral Mass, the parish priest of Castlederg, Fr Paul Fraser, said, “It is hard to imagine life without Niamh.

“She lived her short life in technicolour. There was nothing bland about Niamh.”

“But the colour she brought to your lives, the kindness and the laughs, the love and the joy, will hopefully be a comfort in the days ahead,” said Fr Fraser.

“Niamh was a great wife, mum, sister and daughter, but she was also a great friend. She was thoughtful and kind and was always ready to reach out, to visit and call on the phone.

“Her battle with illness was ongoing over the past 14 years, but Niamh always thanked God that she could get up and do things with with the boys and her family.

“Right to the end, Niamh kept on sorting things out. She wanted to make things as easy fr her family as possible and, in a funny way, she supported you at a time when you were hellbent on supporting her.”

Fr Fraser called on the congregation to honour Mrs O’Kane’s memory. He said she “really loved her job” within the Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex.

“Niamh worked as part of the admin team in the X-ray department,” Fr Fraser continued.

“Niamh’s colleagues there will miss her terribly. She was popular with patients and staff alike and got on with everyone. As Niamh faced her battles with cancer, her goal was always ‘to get back to work’ where everything was ‘normal.’

“She talked about her work friends constantly to the extent that her family at home felt they knew them all personally.”

Mrs O’Kane is survived by her husband, Colin, children Daniel, Lorcan and Nathan, her parents, Danny and Maeve, and siblings Paul, Ruaire, Deirdre, Bríd and Donal.