{"id":222952,"date":"2025-12-09T02:58:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/222952\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T02:58:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:58:30","slug":"community-beyond-heartbroken-after-death-of-devoted-vice-principal-and-beloved-mother-of-three-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/222952\/","title":{"rendered":"Community \u2018beyond heartbroken\u2019 after death of devoted vice-principal and beloved mother-of-three \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tributes have been paid to a much-loved Co Down school teacher<\/a> who sadly passed away.<\/p>\n

Fionnuala Hartigan, a mum-of-three from Newry<\/a>, was the vice-principal at St Patrick\u2019s College, Banbridge<\/a> Co Down.<\/p>\n

She passed away peacefully on December 5, 2025, at Evora Hospice in Newry.<\/p>\n

In a death notice online she is described as the \u201cmuch-loved wife of Ciaran and mother to Eoin, Orla and Kate. <\/p>\n

\"‘Deep<\/a>\"Lisa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe daughter of Raymond and Patricia, she was also a sister to Orla Reavey and Declan.\u201d <\/p>\n

In a statement the school said: \u201cOur school community is beyond heartbroken that we must announce the passing of our dearly beloved friend and colleague, our vice-principal, Fionnuala Hartigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWords cannot describe the terrible void that this devastating news has left in our school and in our hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 1998, Fionnuala taught, served, and led the pupils and staff of St. Patrick\u2019s with ferocious passion and unyielding loyalty. A teacher of Business and ICT, she was a dedicated educator and a compassionate role-model.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer entire career was defined by her unwavering, child-centred approach. <\/p>\n

\u201cFionnuala believed deeply in the potential of every young person and worked tirelessly to ensure their well-being and success were at the heart of everything we did.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a vice-principal, her commitment to creating a positive, vibrant, and inclusive learning and working environment was unparalleled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact of Fionnuala\u2019s loving presence and selfless leadership has undoubtedly touched countless lives over these last twenty-seven years, and her loss will undoubtedly be felt deeply throughout our community for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tributes were paid by former pupils, colleagues, and friends in the hours following her passing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so heartbroken to hear about the passing of Mrs. Hartigan,\u201d one former pupil said in a tribute online.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was such a lovely person, always caring, and full of kindness. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe had a way of making everyone feel welcome and supported in our school community. <\/p>\n

\u201cHer sense of humour could brighten any day, and she always found time to listen and help when I needed it. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, Mrs. Hartigan made my time at St. Patrick\u2019s College so much better. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t just a vice principal\u2014she was someone who truly cared about us as people.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe encouraged me, believed in me, and made school feel like a place where I could grow and be myself. I will always remember her laugh, and the way she could make even serious moments feel lighter. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe touched so many lives, and her kindness will never be forgotten. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts and prayers are with her family, and everyone at St Patrick\u2019s. She will be missed so much, but her memory will live on in all of us who were lucky enough to know her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Hartigan\u2019s remains will repose at her family home at 4 The Forge, Hilltown Road, Newry, today (Sunday) from 1pm to 9pm.<\/p>\n

Her removal will take place on Monday for 12.30pm Funeral Mass in St Catherine\u2019s Church, Dominic Street, followed by burial in Monkshill Cemetery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tributes have been paid to a much-loved Co Down school teacher who sadly passed away. Fionnuala Hartigan, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222953,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[120072,9,10,13,14,6,11,12,15,16,11605,5,40582,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-222952","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-banbridge","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-breakingnews","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-latest-news","15":"tag-latestnews","16":"tag-main-news","17":"tag-mainnews","18":"tag-newry","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-teacher","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-topstories","23":"tag-world","24":"tag-world-news","25":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115687372339240666","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}