I remember her from Claraghatlea she was six years younger than I <br />And on looking back the decades the time just seemed to fly <br />And now I've heard the sad news from all of those miles away <br />That Catherine dear Catherine with the dead of Ireland lay. <br /> <br />She was in her forty eight year so young for one to die <br />And she should have had many years of life left to enjoy <br />Only the good die young they say those words for her ring true <br />For Catherine was a good soul and her equals were few. <br /> <br />She leaves behind her school going children still a decade from their prime <br />Her death for them a tragedy they need her at this time <br />Without their loving mother the hard roads of life they face <br />In their lives she was most important and she is so hard to replace. <br /> <br />The first time I met Catherine I readily can recall <br />She was with her mother Hanna and learning how to crawl <br />In Claraghatlea near Millstreet Town where her life's journey began <br />Yet two years short of fifty doesn't seem a lengthy span. <br /> <br />The life of Catherine Owen O Sullivan we ought to celebrate <br />For good souls live forever and her's was truly great <br />From life taken so early when she still had much to give <br />But in her children and their children she is destined to live.<br /><br />Francis Duggan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-hearing-of-the-death-of-catherine-owen-o-sullivan/
