Warm tributes to esteemed Mayo journalist on her passing
The death has taken place Ailish O’Hora, Treenagleragh, Kiltimagh, and formerly of Finglas, Dublin.
Aged 54, she died peacefully yesterday in the loving care of the staff in Mayo Hospice and surrounded by her caring family.
The deceased was a member of the editorial staff at Irish Independent News and Media (INM) and worked for over 20 years as a business, European and public affairs journalist with INM in Dublin and Brussels.
She also worked for the Sunday Business Post and Warsaw Business Journal during her distinguished career.
Paying tribute to her, the editor-in-chief at INM Cormac Bourke stated: “Ailish was a highly respected colleague who thrived on the buzz and energy of the newsroom.
"Her work was defined by her curiosity – she needed to know what was going on, and she needed to inform the readers.”
Richard Curran, former Irish Independent Business Editor and presenter of RTÉ’s The Business, noted how she never took a story at its face value.
“She had great journalistic instinct and always questioned the version of events being presented in the story. Ailish always wanted to know what was ‘really going on’,” he said.
Another business journalist who worked closely with her at the Irish Independent, Maeve Dineen, recalled: “You knew Ailish was on to a good story when she’d get up from her desk and walk down through the office to a quieter spot where she could ask the harder questions."
“It was never really about the numbers involved and always about the people behind the numbers, or better again, the people who had made the numbers collapse.”
In a tribute published on Independent.ie today, Frank Coughlan wrote: "Her intense curiosity about the world, and the people who made it turn, meant she had plenty of opinions to share.
"It was what made her not only a well-loved and cherished colleague, but a valued and highly regarded journalist.
"That nose to sniff out a good story is not as common among journalists as the reading public might think. But Ailish had it. She knew the best angles often hid in the shadows, and she wasn’t shy in seeking them out."
Throughout her years in Dublin and abroad, she retained a keen interest in the fortunes of Mayo football.
Ailish is deeply regretted by her heartbroken family: parents Vinnie and Anne, sisters Kathleen, Sinead and Louise, brothers Vincent and Pádraig.
She is also fondly remembered by her brothers-in-law Brendan and Pat, sister-in-law Louise , adored nieces and nephews Luke, Éabha, Amélie and Eli, extended family, neighbours and friends.
Deepest sympathy is tendered to the bereaved family on their loss.
Reposing in O'Hora's Funeral Home, Kiltimagh, on Saturday evening from 5.30 until 8 p.m, arriving to the Church of the Holy Family, Kiltimagh, at 8.30 p.m.
Funeral Mass takes place on Sunday at 11 a.m., followed by burial in Kilkinure Cemetery, Kiltimagh.
May her gentle soul rest in peace.