Mary McCarthy
(née Flynn)

The family of Mary Brigid McCarthy (née Flynn) is mourning the passing of their dearly beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and aunt on Dec 9, 2022, at 93 years old. She was born in 1929 in Glenfarne, County Leitrim, to her mother Brigid and her father Thomas Flynn. Her father's first cousin was Irish freedom fighter Sean Mac Diarmada (Sean McDermott), who was executed in 1916 and changed Irish history forever.

After 17 years on the farm in Leitrim, Mary set her sights on America, where she lived with her mother's sister, a nurse, in the Boston area. Mary was employed at S.S. Pierce, a grocery manufacturing company, for four years and was promoted to bookkeeper before receiving additional training at Boston Business School.

While in Boston, Mary met Denis McCarthy at an Irish dance, and they married in 1952. Denis was a trained butcher from Bantry, County Cork, the son of Catherine and Michael McCarthy, a cattle dealer and proud “Bawnie” McCarthy. Denis and Mary had seven children between the years 1953-1970: Kathy, Patty, Teresa, Michael, Monica, Tom, and Denis Jr “Denny.” Their eldest daughter Kathy returned to Ireland after high school, married and raised her family in Ballydehob, while the rest of their children stayed in the U.S. but frequently visit Ireland and consider it their home away from home.

Denis had a 20-year career in the U.S. Air Force and 15 years in the U.S. Department of the Treasury as an airline sky marshall and U.S Customs and Homeland security officer in Southern California. Mary was always by his side, traveling all over the U.S. and Europe with the children, relocating every few years with assignments to Biloxi, Mississippi; Boston, Massachusetts; York, England; Sacramento, California; Hahn, Germany; and San Bernardino, California. But no matter where they lived, there was one house rule: if they weren’t home by 4:30pm, someone needed to start the potatoes. 

When Denis retired in 1986, they split their time between Bantry, Denis’s hometown, and San Diego, California, for almost 25 years. Many Bantry neighbors and family said they knew it was summer when Denis and Mary arrived for those enjoyable months between May and September. They often had the front windows and doors open on Chapel Street and Parade Field, ready for anyone to pop by for a visit. 

Mary was known as the quiet, soft-spoken wife of Denis, an outgoing extrovert, who passed away in 2010. She was a truly beautiful lady on the inside and out, always ready to offer food and drink, a kind word, and laugh to all. Her final hours were spent quietly blessing herself, praying the rosary, and thanking God for all His blessings. We miss her loving spirit and calm, peaceful disposition.

She is survived by her sister Sally, brothers-in-law Frank, Conor, and Paddy, sister-in-law Ruth, seven children, two sons-in-law, three daughters-in-law, 19 grandchildren (who lovingly called her Nana), and 11 great-grandchildren. In the words of Mary/Mom/Nana, “byesie byesie.” She meant so much to so many people and will forever be missed and live on in our hearts.

There will be a joint memorial mass for Mary & Denis McCarthy on February 1, 2023 at noon at St. Finbarr's Church in Bantry with a joint burial immediately following at the Abbey Cemetery in Bantry. 

They have also celebrated both Denis & Mary's funeral masses in San Diego, CA; most recently on January 9, 2023, for Mary's passing and in 2010 for Denis's passing. 

“Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.”

At God’s right hand may her precious soul rest.