Sile Doyle, (nee O'Connell), passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 25th, aged 91, after a period of illness that followed a full life. Sile, along with her inseparable twin John (Sean), was born on June 4th, 1922, to Mary J O'Connell (nee Quinlan) from The Kerries, Tralee, and John O'Connell, solicitor and tralee coroner, originally from Ballinagroun, Inch. She lived with her four older sisters, Mary, Eileen, Kathleen and Peggy and brothers Jimmy and John, who all predeceased her, in Ballyard, Tralee.
Life changed considerably when Sile's father died when she was only three years old. The Quinlan and O'Connell families, as well as neighbours, were very supportive of the suddenly impoverished family with practical gifts or bringing the children to their homes for long summer holidays. Sile and John regularly stayed at their father's family farm in Inch. These links continued when the O'Connell family decamped en masse to Dublin when Sile was eleven.
Sile attended the convent of Mercy national school, Balloonagh, Tralee, though at times this was intermittent, as she and John often escaped and the young twins were eventually separated and sent to different girls' and boys' schools. They were often seen 'hiding' together around the town.
Many O'Connell and Quinlan relatives remain in north Kerry, although some also migrated to Dublin and further afield; one because the Minister for Labour in a Canadian government.
When Mary, the eldest sister, got a job teaching in Dublin the whole family - five girls and two boys - all followed this source of income and initially lived in a two bedroomed, third floor flat at 67 Lower Leeson Street. By coincidence, Sile spent her last year in the kind care of Leeson Park Nursing Home at the other end of that street.
Sile went to Scoil Caitriona secondary school in Dublin and then spent some time working in Clerys store before joining the Civil Service. It was here that she met Tommy Doyle, a Dubliner with Wexford roots. They married in 1951 and moved to Churchtown, then very much at the southern edge of Dublin city with a strong rural hinterland. They had five children, Anne, Mary, Gerard, Eugene and Elizabeth. Sile settled down to make a happy, cheerful home for all and was devoted to her family's needs. They had seven grandchildren - all girls.
Tommy predeceased Sile in 1998.
The O'Connell family remained close and ever supportive, with her mother, four sisters and brother Jimmy all moving to Churchtown. Her once inseperable twin John was less than three miles away in Templeogue.
Following her camogie playing days when she won a medal with her club team in Croke Park, Sile was interested in watching all kinds of sports. She was an avid follower of snooker in particular, but also enjoyed golf, tennis and especially Gaelic football on television. She was one of Kerry's best football supporters - from a distance. She never watched they play, being too nervous. The family would phone her afterwards, usually with positive news. How did she ever cope when her twin John became a Dublin football selector?
Sile joined a writers' group in Dundrum in the 1990s and this gave her a new lease of life and many new friends. They met weekly and Sile's creative writing talent was released. Having always been an imaginative story teller to her children, she then expanded her talent into composing short stories and poems - many based on memories of Kerry; of her mother, of being a twin or of holidays in Ballinagroun. So, although she spent most of her life in Dublin, she never lost her Kerry memories - or her accent!
To end, an extract from of Sile's poems, entitled Peace.
Peace when our time here's ending
As we breathe our last sigh
Waiting for his whisper
Peace be with you - it is I

Kerry's Eye, 5th September, 2013 Tweet

Most Read Stories