Katharine Howard was a remarkable woman, according to those who knew her. Not even she, however, could have foreseen that her legacy would prove so lasting or effective.
A descendant of the Earls of Wicklow, Ms Howard died 10 years ago this month, leaving behind a charitable trust she had established in 1979 with funds bequeathed by a relative in the US.
Now known as the Katharine Howard Foundation, the trust has expanded to the extent that it dispenses more than £100,000 annually in funding for community projects and research into the underlying causes of social problems.
Although it rarely makes headlines and doesn't seek them, the foundation attracted positive media coverage last year when it funded a major research project on social housing in Ireland. The resulting report, "Social Housing in Ireland. A Study of Success, Failure and the Lessons Learned", has since been adopted as a blueprint by a number of local authorities.
While the foundation has led a low-key existence, perhaps even less is known about Ms Howard. The six trustees of the organisation, who include the Dublin stock exchange chairman, Mr David Kingston, believe her life story should be better known.
Having been raised at Shelton Abbey by her uncle, the sixth Earl of Wicklow, Ms Howard spent most of her adult life in Co Wexford. She lived for almost 40 years at Ounavarra House, outside Courtown, which she sold in 1972, when she moved the short distance to Kiltennel.
Mr Richard Donovan, another trustee and a former friend of Ms Howard, says it would have been impossible for her to foresee how successful the foundation would become. After her death £1 million had been added to the capital through the sale of her house and other assets, while a further $2 million was provided from a family trust.
The trustees try, he said, to provide funding for projects she would have been likely to support. The foundation's development officer, Ms Noelle Spring, can be contacted at 01-8351579.