Anne Ryan: Anne Ryan, who died suddenly earlier this month, was a highly committed, energetic mother of two who played a significant role in the Galway business community.
"She could never understand why a door should be closed when it could be open," is how a close family member summed up her approach to life last week following her funeral - one of the largest which Galway city has witnessed in recent years. Over a thousands people attended, many having had personal experience of her generosity.
Anne Sweeney was born the second of four girls in Ballygar, Co Galway, to the late Joe and Marie Sweeney, both of whom were involved in the local community. Mr Sweeney was principal of the Kilmore and Ballygar national schools, was chairman of the Galway football board during the famous "three-in-row" wins of the 1960s, and he and his wife shared a keen interest in instrumental and choral music.
That passion for music was absorbed by their daughters, including Anne, who became a member of the Patrician Musical Society.
After secondary school, she spent a year studying home economics in Donegal and was then offered a post in the Bank of Ireland, initially in Claremorris, Co Mayo. Her organisational abilities and aptitude for dealing with people were apparent from early on, and were a hallmark of her career when she was moved to the bank's Galway city branch in Eyre Square.
She joined the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
There she met her future husband, Anthony Ryan, third-generation owner of the city's well-known drapery in Shop Street. When they became engaged, Anne was seconded for six months to the Confederation of Irish Industry.
On her return to Galway and subsequent marriage, she became closely involved at an informal level in the family business and the social networks established by her parents-in-law, Paddy and Breda Ryan, owners of the Ardilaun Hotel. Tragically, her own parents died of brain-related illnesses at the age of 60 and 61 respectively.
Her relationship with her mother-in-law, Breda, was unique. "They were more like sisters, best friends," one family member has noted, and the pair became closer still after the recent death of Mr Ryan, a former city mayor and founder of the Galway Races.
Anne Ryan was involved in the Galway branch of the Business and Professional Women's Club, serving as its president and treasurer, and her commitment to fundraising extended to involvement in the National Breast Cancer Research Institute. She was a key player in Galway's response to the south-east Asian tsunami disaster last December, raising €10,000 at a fashion show. There was rarely a fundraising event in the city that she did not support along with her husband, and the pair developed a reputation on the dance floor.
Much of her work was unobtrusive. She was a board member of St Joseph's Special School in Newcastle and, when funding for vital swimming lessons became an issue, she raised the necessary finance through personal contacts.
Leisure time was spent on Lough Corrib, which she loved, and it was there she took ill suddenly a fortnight ago in the family boat with her husband and sons, Anthony (17) and Joseph (15).
It was a reflection of the esteem in which she was held that a guard of honour was provided by Clongowes - where her sons are pupils - students outside the church after her funeral Mass in Salthill. Her generosity extended to donating her organs for transplant.
She is survived by her husband, Anthony; sons, Anthony and Joseph; and sisters, Goretti Newell (Dublin), Eileen Maloney (Knocknacarra) and Mary Ramsey (Washington DC).
Born: January 1st, 1952; died, June 14th, 2005