Funeral details announced for broadcaster and author Kathleen Watkins

Olivia Kelleher

The funeral details have been announced of broadcaster and author Kathleen Watkins who died on Thursday at the age of ninety.

Ms Watkins was the widow of the late broadcaster Gay Byrne who passed away five years ago this week.

The couple married on June 25th, 1964 in Saggart Parish Church. Over a thousand well-wishers crowded in to the village in south Dublin to catch a glimpse of the happy couple.

Ms Watkins, late of Sandymount and formerly of Howth and Saggart died in the “wonderful care” of the team at the Blackrock clinic.

She is survived by her daughters Crona and Suzy, grandchildren Cian, Sadhbh, Kate and Saoirse,  her son-in-laws Philip and Ronan, her siblings Clare and Phil, extended family and friends. She was predeceased by her brother Jim.

Her funeral will depart from Howth at 11am on Tuesday  for requiem mass at noon at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Donnybrook, Dublin, followed by a private burial.

In her last interview before her death in September of this year Ms Watkins told the Sunday Independent that she was touched by the fact that lots of people continue to visit her late husband’s grave in Sutton.

She recalled her first date with Gay at the Safari Café at the top of Dawson Street in Dublin in 1958. She spoke of the crowds which gathered outside their wedding in Saggart sixty years ago last June.

Ms Watkins said that she never minded being married to someone who was public property.

“Everywhere we went, people came up to Gay. When he was sick, people would say to me : ‘Tell him, we love him.’

When we were at functions, people would give us little bits of paper for Gay to say hello to someone on his show in the morning.”

Movingly, Ms Watkins added that her “memories are huge” and her “reminiscences are huge” of her beloved late husband.