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Author Kate Delahunty made Co Wexford her home

The late Kate Delahunty.

© New Ross Standard

Kate (Kaye Winkie) Delahunty (née Wiseman), who passed away on February 6, 2024, in the Oak Ward Palliative Care Unit at University Hospital Waterford, was a devoted matriarch, teacher, author and someone who had a passion for helping children achieve their potential.

Born on November 22, 1931, in Columbus, Ohio, USA, she is preceded in death by her brother, Dick Wiseman and daughter-in-law, Imelda Delahunty.

Kate will be greatly missed by her sister Mary Hoffman Cunningham, her children Deborah Lawlor, Karen Crabbs, Dan Delahunty, Shane Delahunty, her daughter-in-law Jackie Delahunty and son-in-law Jim Lawlor, her grandchildren Ailin, Ciaran, Debbie, Warren, Kelly, Sarah, Claire, Jessi, Louise, Roisin, Mick and ShaneOg, and her great grandchildren Junior, Jakub and Archie.

Kate drove across the USA to work on the west coast in the early Sixties by herself with her two young daughters (aged four and six) in a ‘Beetle’ Volkswagon. She was offered a job at the World’s Fair in 1964 where she was in charge of the National Foundation of the Blind Exhibit at the Better Living Center.

When she would return to the USA (1990s) to visit her family in Columbus, Ohio, she would volunteer at the Native American Indian Center.

Kate moved to New Ross, settling in Marsh Lane and Ballycurran. She was a member of both the New Ross Sea Scouts and Parent Committee at New Ross Vocational School.

Kate’s love of children led her to teach Sunday and Bible School in the U.S.A., babysit many children in the New Ross area, work with Childline in Waterford for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) and raise funds for the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation in Vietnam.

If you knew Kate, you knew that her great passion was to swim. She was an active member of the New Ross Brandon House Leisure Centre where she swam several times a week and she always made sure to pack her swimsuit whenever she travelled.

Kate comes from a lineage of accomplished playwrights, poets and authors. Her love for the people, history, music and culture of Ireland led her to author two books, ‘Verses From Ireland’ and ‘Stars in the Celtic Twilight’.

Kate lived many years in Ballycurran before moving into The Waterfront on Marsh Lane 15 years ago. She was a member of the Active Retirement Associations in New Ross and Glenmore and had a wide circle of friends.

She passed away after a long illness which she bore with dignity and courage. Kate’s love of nature led her to choose Woodbrook Natural Burial Ground as her final resting place. A private ceremony was held by her family.