Tributes paid to former Lady Mayoress Ursula Shannon

Tributes have poured in for Former Lady Mayoress of Cork City and adoption rights campaigner Ursula Shannon, who died following a battle with illness.

Wife of Fianna Fáil councillor Terry Shannon, the couple were Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress from 2011 to 2012.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin told The Echo: “We are deeply saddened at the loss of Ursula, our families have been very close over the years and she was an outstanding person, a loving mother, a loving grandmother, and a tremendous support to Terry, particularly in terms of his work on the council.

“She had a tremendous knowledge of the constituency and was very caring and very anxious to get problems solved, she worked with Terry a lot in terms of issues in the ward and problems people would have had.” 

He continued: “She was an outstanding hockey enthusiast, who coached many young people with Christ King and the Church of Ireland Hockey Club, based at Garryduff and she was a very hands on Lady Mayoress who got involved in a lot of community activities.

“Many council officials were particularly struck by her thoughtfulness at the end of their term when she visited them with a box of chocolates, so she was very kind and thoughtful like that.

“She loved music, particularly the Opera House, and in terms of the Adoption Rights Allowance she was forensic in her information retrieval, very committed to getting answers about what went on in terms of adoption.

“She sought to enlighten and to change policies and she was very effective and impactful in that way.” 

Mr Martin concluded: “We send our deepest sympathies to Terry, Robert, Katie, Conor and Emily – we grew up in politics together and she was always so delighted with Terry’s election success even when she was battling illness herself.” 

Mr Shannon’s council colleague Mary Rose Desmond told The Echo: “I’d like to extend my sympathy to Terry, Robert, Katie, Conor and Emily on the passing of their lovely wife and mum.

“Ursula was a very good friend, I’ve known her for many years – we worked on the tall ships together when they came to Cork back in 1991, and she was a very strong community activist.

“Ursula loved life and lived life to the fullest – she was a real breath of fresh air, woke up every room she walked into and for her, everything was about her family, her husband, children and her parents, Jim and Sheila O’Keeffe.

“During a campaign, Ursula was behind the scenes getting everything sorted for Terry, she was a wonderful Lady Mayoress who really took on the role and represented the city so well and you’d always find Ursula right at Terry’s side.

“She really was one of the warmest, kindest hearts, always remembering your own family and what was going on with them and asking about them.” 

Ms Shannon was very involved in hockey through the years, and many young people would have bought their tickets to the Garryduff discoes from her, she added.

“In more recent years, their beautiful granddaughter Bláthnaid was born and she was the apple of Ursula’s eye.

“She had been through a short illness over the last few months and she wore it with such great humour and bravery - my sincere condolences to her family, she’s the biggest loss to them.”