‘Marion was like Mother Teresa — she had a heart of gold’

THE homeless woman whose body was taken from the River Lee in Cork yesterday morning was described by her street friends as a “Mother Teresa figure”.

The death of Marion O’Leary, 54, who was originally from Gurranabraher, stunned a number of people.

She had lived under the care of the Simon Community for a number of years.

Friends who spoke yesterday insisted she did not suffer from depression and was not the type to “throw herself in the river”.

James McCarthy, 31, said the deceased treated him as though he was her son.

“I only spoke to her, just yesterday. She was a great person. She was very quiet, but had a great heart.”

Ann Marie Taylor, 27, from Mahon, said she knew the victim for years. “She was a very gentle person, she wouldn’t harm a fly. There wasn’t a hope in hell she’d throw herself into the river. She never returned late to the Simon shelter.”

Robert Drought, 39, who sleeps on Cork’s streets, said he saw Ms O’Leary near the Sextant pub on Kennedy Quay at about 11.30pm on Wednesday — possibly a few hours before her death.

“She had a load of cans with her and she said she was going away. She was a bit wobbly on her feet,” he said.

“She was as sound as a pound. She often used to mind my bags for me and she’d give you a beer if you needed one. There was no way she’d jump — she couldn’t even swim,” he said.

James McCarthy, who is originally from Limerick, said she always had time for people. She used to do a lot of drinking down by the Marina.

“Marion never did drugs. She liked a beer and a drop of whiskey. You never really saw her that drunk. She was like Mother Teresa — if she saw anybody in trouble she’d help them. She had a heart of gold.”