'A force of nature': Tributes paid to former Lady Mayoress of Cork who died on Christmas Day

Ursula Shannon was lady mayoress during Terry Shannon's term as Lord Mayor in 2011 and 2012

Mon, 30 Dec, 2024 - 21:06

Eoin English

A former Lady Mayoress of Cork who became a fierce advocate for “the lost and the searching” as she campaigned for improved adoption rights has been remembered as “a force of nature” and “the very best of us”.

Ursula Shannon’s husband, Fianna Fáil city councillor, Terry Shannon, also paid tribute to her stoicism in the face of her illness.

“I think some of the consultants were afraid of her,” he joked.

“She told them ‘I hear there are meetings of my team’. And she’d say: ‘I’m on the team, I’m not on the bench and I want to know exactly what’s going on’."

The moving tributes were paid during a celebration of life service for Ms Shannon on Monday following her death on Christmas Day after a short illness, aged 60. She was lady mayoress during Mr Shannon's term as Lord Mayor in 2011 and 2012.

In her eulogy, her long-time friend, Kate Durrant, said Ursula was unlike anyone she had ever met.

“Unlike any Lady Mayoress the city had ever seen before, or ever will again, the force of nature that was Ursula breezed into City Hall, runners on her feet, straight from the hockey pitch, greeting visiting dignitaries and school children with equal enthusiasm, during a wonderful year that saw Ursula and Terry sprinkle their unique blend of Cork magic across distant counties and countries,” she said.

She was, she is, the very best of us

Ms Shannon was born Bernadette McNally in Paddington general hospital on February 18, 1964, to an Irish mother, Mary, 25, who had been working in England since 1958. Her birth father was from Galway.

Ursula was, in her own words, “trafficked to Ireland for adoption” where she was adopted by Jim and Sheila O’Keeffe and given the name Ursula.

Mourners at Monday’s service at the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy, who were led by Terry, their children Robert, Conor, Katie and Emily, and granddaughter Bláthnaid, heard how Ursula met Terry at a junior chamber meeting in 1989, during which she heckled him from the floor. They married on June 4, 1994.

They heard how following the death of her parents, Sheila and Jim, in 2011, Ursula began the search for her birth family, which ultimately led to her connecting with her birth mother, her sister Sarah and brother Dave, in England.

Ms Durrant said: “Despite the challenges that journey posed, and it was tough, she took many people with her, putting her considerable energy and time into helping others on the same road, becoming a fierce advocate for the lost and the searching.”

Ursula Shannon was, in her own words, “trafficked to Ireland for adoption” where she was adopted by Jim and Sheila O’Keeffe and given the name Ursula. File picture: Denis Minihane

Ms Shannon also petitioned the British Parliament, demanding it “find their moral compass for those that have suffered and those who are still suffering”.

Mr Shannon thanked family and friends for “wrapping arms of love” around the family, especially in recent weeks, and the medics who cared for his wife, and he paid special tribute to his children for how they have cared for their mother during her illness.

“There was nothing they wouldn’t and didn’t do. For me, the best tribute I can make to Ursula is just to look at our four kids,” he said.

Among the mourners were the Lord Mayor, Cllr Dan Boyle, Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin, MEP Billy Kelleher, and Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley.

Tributes paid to Cork cattle exporter and racehorse owner John Horgan