There has been widespread sadness following the death of Eva Dunlop who passed away on January 12 aged 92.

Eva Dunlop was born in 1927 to William and Sarah Primrose in Tattenbuddagh. She was the eldest child of three, with a brother David and a sister Sadie. Her mother died during her early teens and Eva was left to assist her father on the farm as well as helping to raise her younger siblings. It was at this early age that Eva learnt the meaning of hard work.

Later in life she met Harry Dunlop from Cooneen and they fell In love and got married. In order to seek work they moved to Dungannon where they worked on a country estate. They were soon blessed with their first child Ethel, closely followed by a son Kenneth. It was at this time Harry took seriously ill with TB and the family moved back to Cooneen to be close to relatives in order to aid his recovery. Harry and Eva lived in a small two bedroom cottage in Cooneen where they went on to have five more children, Noel, William, Helen, Adrian and Yvonne.

While Harry worked in Mullaghfad forestry Eva dedicated herself to looking after her seven children and running the family farm. While times were extremely tough for Eva and her family at this time, her children never wanted for the important things in life. She would rise every morning and cycle/walk for a number of miles to milk a cow so her children could get a hearty breakfast before school. The house was always full of the smell of freshly baked fadge bread she had made on her small black single range cooker.

Eva and the family then moved a few miles up the road to Harry’s parents farm and made it their home. During the early seventies Eva survived three IRA attacks on her family and their home. One of these attacks included a 200lb bomb placed outside her kitchen windows while there were four children and three adults inside. Eva and her family were advised to move away from their home to a safe location but Eva’s response was “this is my home and I am not leaving”. She loved her home and the Cooneen area and the people. Eva was a great social person who loved to host and ceili with friends and family. She particularly enjoyed day trips out and family gatherings such as weddings and birthdays.

Eva’s next love after her family was her faith and Cooneen Parish Church. She was a regular attender at services along with her family. She was an avid member of the Mothers’ Union where she enjoyed the fellowship and friendship of all attended. It was later in life aged 80 she reaffirmed her faith while praying with her son William when she asked the Lord Jesus into her heart.

Eva leaves seven children, 18 grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren and one on the way. She got great pleasure from them all in later years and loved to see them calling. She taught her children the philosophy of hard work she learned at a young age and they all repaid her with the quality of love and care they gave her in later years. She kept them on their toes even though she was unable to work herself, delegating jobs to each of them around the farm and house.

Funeral arrangements by SR Elliott and Sons.