Catherine Mac Rory:CATHERINE (nee Lyne) was born in 1951 in Dublin. She worked with Irish Life Assurance Company and other financial services institutions before attending UCD. She graduated with a BA degree in politics and economics in 1977 and a higher diploma in education in 1978. She touched many lives in East Africa and in Ireland during her varied career.
Catherine’s East Africa career commenced in 1978, when she moved to Kenya with her husband Peadar. She taught initially at the Visa Oshwal Girls Community School, Nairobi and later at Kianda High School, where she introduced economics onto the curriculum. Her first class sat their A-level examinations in 1983, achieving the best results in Kenya that year. Active in the Kenya Irish Society from first arrival, she chaired the society in 1981-82, hosting céilithe, balls and outings.
Returning to live in Ireland in 1984, Catherine set up home in Letterkenny, Co Donegal. She was among the first group in Donegal to train and qualify as a registered reflexologist in 1989. She practised initially in Letterkenny and Derry before taking her skills further afield to Uganda and Ethiopia.
The call of Africa beckoned again in 1992 and Catherine moved to Uganda.
She taught primary classes at Lincoln International School, Kampala from 1993 to 1995. During this time she practised reflexology on patients recovering from stroke and in the palliative care of Aids sufferers at the Nsambya Hospital, Kampala. With the Franciscan nuns, she trained a number of the hospital medical staff in the techniques. Moving to Ethiopia in 1995, Catherine taught at the Sandford English Community School, Addis Ababa, where the children of the president of Ethiopia were among her pupils. She also worked closely with the Medical Missionaries of Mary in Addis Ababa, where she used reflexology as a therapy for Aids sufferers. She trained reflexologists in Ethiopia and assisted them in successfully achieving registered status. These were the first Ethiopian registered reflexologists and she took great pride in their success.
At home again since 1998, Catherine taught in a number of primary schools around Letterkenny. She took further studies in teaching dyslexic children and she taught in the local dyslexia workshop based at Letterkenny Institute of Technology. She taught full-time at Kerrykeel National School in 2003-2004.
Catherine joined the library service of Donegal County Council in 2004 and forged links between the library and primary schools in the catchment area. Along with Sgt Danny Devlin of the North West Draughts Association, she launched and sustained the annual Milford Community Library Inter-Schools Draughts Tournament, involving up to 15 primary schools in the locality.
Catherine achieved much in her short life. She is sadly missed by Peadar, Clare, Brian and Cara, by a wide extended family including brothers Tom and Paul, an aunt, cousins, nephews, nieces and in-laws. Among others, the reflexology network in Donegal, the library service and the teaching community around Letterkenny and Milford will miss her. – PMcR