Mother of three former All-Ireland Tipperary hurlers laid to rest after long and fulfilling life
The mother of the Bonner brothers of Cashel passed away recently
Tributes have been paid to 98-year-old Maureen Bonnar, whose family became synonymous with hurling in Cashel and Tipperary through the exploits of her sons Cormac, Colm and Conal, all of whom won All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medals with Tipperary in the 80s and 90s.
Maureen leaves behind a remarkable legacy of 13 children, 44 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, after a life devoted to family and sport in Cashel, Tipperary and Donegal. She passed away peacefully on Friday, May 1, in the care of the staff at St Teresa’s Nursing Home.
Maureen, who lived a long life to the age of 98, had spent many years in a nursing home and survived Covid twice. A number of years ago, when she was around 94 and close to death, family members at home gathered to say their goodbyes, while relatives living abroad did so over the phone.
Members of Cashel King Cormac’s GAA club formed a special guard of honour for Maureen’s funeral cortege as it travelled from the family home on Lowergate Street to her requiem mass in St John the Baptist Church, Cashel, on Wednesday.
The club, with whom the Bonnar family share a close connection, paid tribute to Maureen (née McHugh) and her late husband Pearse, who moved to Cashel in 1956 and made their home beneath the shadow of the Rock.
Burial took place afterwards in Cormac’s Cemetery. Maureen is sadly missed by her children Kieran, Mary, Brendan, Cormac, Fionuala, Philomena, Eithne, Colm, Ann, Triona, Niamh, Conal and Ailbe; her sons-in-law Herb Schroder, John O’Dwyer, Peter Cunningham, Sean Ó hAonghusa and Liam Hogan; daughters-in-law Margaret O’Shea, Margaret Butler, Nesta Roche, Mairéad Luby, Collette MacNamara and Karen Corbett; her 44 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; brother Gerry; sister Anna Doherty; nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.
She was predeceased by her brothers Paddy, John, Jimmy, Joe, Peter, Danny, Charlie and Rory, granddaughter Sorcha, and was mother-in-law of the late Jay Teilborg.