Final journey for former first lady Nancy Reagan

There was an echo of Ballyporeen when the former first lady of the United States, Nancy Reagan, was laid to rest beside her husband Ronald in the grounds of his presidential library in California over the weekend.

She had accompanied president Reagan on his homecoming visit to his ancestral Co Tipperary parish on June 3, 1984. A physically frail but extremely gracious woman, she smiled when parish priest Fr John Murphy called her “Missus” and sipped a Carolans Irish cream liqueur in the Ronald Reagan Lounge while her beloved husband enjoyed a pint of Smithwicks.

Her maternal instincts were obvious when she cradled in her arms Catherine Nancy O’Farrell, the infant daughter of John and Mary O’Farrell, who had named their licensed premises after the 40th US President.