Martina McMahon will be remembered for her legacy of love.
She will be remembered as a loving wife to Seamus, a supportive mother to James and Ellen, a proud grandmother to Seanie and as a friend to many.
Her love for her community in Rosslea, whom she selflessly served will be recalled as will her compassion for those she met through her 40-year career at the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
Mrs. McMahon (62) died on Saturday, May 18 following a cancer diagnosis, her son James led tributes on behalf of the McMahon family.
He said: “As a mum, she was very supportive, you could count on one hand how many matches she missed from under-eights up, even school matches in the middle of the day when she was working, she was there.
“You felt like you could go to her with anything, she was very reasoned and logical too, she was an extra pair of ears as a friend more than anything.
“She was an outgoing and warm person, she was very sociable and had a great sense of fun. Mum loved getting out and about, she enjoyed going out for meals, she enjoyed going to concerts and was at Eric Clapton with Dad the Thursday before she died.”
Mrs. McMahon grew up in Trillick, the youngest of ten children of Willie and Eileen Donnelly.
Her son said: " “She was always very proud of her Trillick roots, she used to say she lived in Rosslea but she is from Trillick.
Sadly, Mrs McMahon had been predeceased by three of her siblings in recent months, her son explained: “Four of the ten children have passed away within the last 16 months which has been very tough on the family.”
Mrs McMahon was educated at Magheralough Primary School, Trillick and Mount Lourdes Grammar School, Enniskillen where she developed a passion for languages and travelled to Europe.
“She went to Queens to study law but decided it wasn’t for her so went to the Housing Executive and said ‘It’ll do me until I get something’ and 40 years later she was still there”, Mr. McMahon explained.
Her son said: “She was very good there and her willingness to help people in need was evident with her relationship with tenants over the decades, whether in the Omagh or Enniskillen office from which she later retired in December 2022.”
It was at the Omagh office of the NIHE where she met her future husband, Seamus McMahon from Rosslea. The pair married in August 1987 in Magheralough Church, Trillick.
In the community, she was a stalwart of Roslea Shamrocks GAC: "She was involved in Roslea club here in both official roles and unofficial roles, she had served as PRO and was until the time of her death, the health and wellbeing officer for the club.
She was heavily involved as a player and secretary of the camogie club in Roslea too when it was in existence.
“In the community, she played the organ in the church, she was involved in the drama group, was a youth club leader, she was on the Board of Governors for the primary school and was a great community woman as well. It wasn’t just the football club she got involved with, but rather in all aspects of the community”, her son explained.
The McMahon family have been overwhelmed with the support they have received since Mrs. McMahon's passing and from the large number of people who attended her wake and funeral.
They expressed gratitude to Roslea Shamrocks GAC for their guard of honour, support in stewarding, carparking and many other duties during the funeral and wake, and also to those from across the community who supported the family.
Mr. McMahon said: “It was very humbling as it let us know how many people she reached and affected.
“The saying, ‘people don’t remember what you said but they remember how they made you feel’ is very true when it comes to Mum, she left a lasting impression on anyone she had any dealings with.
Mrs. McMahon’s funeral mass took place on Tuesday, May 21 at St. Tierney’s Church, Rosslea and was conducted by Fr. John Chester, Canon John McKenna and Fr. Brian D’Arcy. Her funeral was followed by cremation at Lakelands Crematorium, Cavan. Funeral arrangements were carried out by Connolly Funeral Directors, Rosslea.
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