A life devoted to serving her local community

PHYL PENNEFATHER: PHYL PENNEFATHER, who has died in her 96th year, was a woman whose presence and friendship reached out to …

PHYL PENNEFATHER:PHYL PENNEFATHER, who has died in her 96th year, was a woman whose presence and friendship reached out to a wide circle of people, particularly in the Dublin and Wicklow areas.

Born in Limerick, Pennefather's parents were of west of Ireland stock. The family of her mother, Alice Lewin, were from Co Mayo, and her father, Cyril Browne, was the son of Lord Richard Browne from Sligo.

The family moved to Bray, Co Wicklow, in the 1930s and it was there that Pennefather spent most of her life. She was one of the first flush of women to enter Trinity College Dublin, from where she graduated with a first in modern languages in the mid-1930s.

She then spent a short period of time teaching at Heron's Gill, a girls' school in Horsham, West Sussex, before joining the air ministry at the start of the war.

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In 1941, she married Harold Ind of the brewing concern, Ind Coope, and returned to Ireland during the war to her parents' home in Bray, leaving Ind behind engaged in the war effort.

Pennefather devoted her life to her family and the community. She was chief commissioner of the Wicklow Girl Guides and was responsible for inspecting the guides as they paraded on the gravel expanse in front of Rosslyn, the family house in Bray, on the occasion of the annual Wicklow Guide and Scout gathering. In her capacity as chief commissioner, she officiated at many other events over the years.

Pennefather worked tirelessly for a variety of charities, among them the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association, and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, organising sales and exhibitions.

A gifted actor, she was also involved in community theatre, taking lead roles in a number of parish plays.

After her children left home in the late 1960s, Pennefather returned to her major love - painting.

Having previously confined her activities to a few rural sketches on the odd family holiday, Pennefather began to focus wholeheartedly on painting, revealing a talent for her portrayal of country scenes and flowers.

With friends, she set up the Wicklow Artists Group and, in a converted garage and outhouse at her home, organised annual exhibitions of work by local artists in aid of the Adelaide hospital and other charities.

A measure of her success as an artist was that she was invited each year during her 70s and 80s to give a week-long painting class at an annual summer school in the Burren.

Many of her paintings adorn the walls of homes across the country and also those of Dargle Valley Nursing Home, where she was cared for in her final years.

Pennefather enjoyed a good game of bridge and, as the facilities in her area were non-existent, she was instrumental with a number of friends and local businesspeople in raising sufficient funds to build a bridge centre in Greystones, which is a thriving part of the community today.

Pennefather was a keen gardener who knew her plants, and she worked tirelessly to ensure that her garden was full of colour, with blue agapanthus lilies a speciality.

She was also always a source of knowledge and assistance to amateur gardeners.

An active member of the community for almost 70 years, Pennefather was loved and respected by everyone who knew her. She will be remembered by the many people she has touched during her long life for her warmth, generosity and spirit.

Phyl Pennefather: born February 17th, 1913; died May 6th, 2008