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Remembering a woman who made a difference – Kitty Cotter (102) RIP

February 18th, 2016 11:48 AM

By Siobhan Cronin

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KITTY Cotter, the West Cork woman who made a video saying why she was voting ‘yes’ in the Marriage Equality referendum last May, has passed away.

KITTY Cotter, the West Cork woman who made a video saying why she was voting ‘yes’ in the Marriage Equality referendum last May, has passed away.

Kitty, from Monarone, Bandon, stole the hearts of people all over the world with her video, filmed when she was 101, stating she believed in ‘equal rights for all our citizens’.

She had been encouraged to make the video by her grand-daughter Ca O’Donoghue, who told The Southern Star afterwards that she never expected the 11-second film to be such a hit. It garnered hundreds of thousands of views within a few days of Ca posting it on her Facebook page.

And when Kitty went out to vote, on May 22nd last year, in her gorgeous ‘rainbow’ cardigan, the photograph went viral around the world.

A former teacher, and keen golf and bridge player, Kitty was a staunch supporter of Fine Gael and then-Taoiseach Jack Lynch was once her partner in mixed doubles tennis.

She taught in Mawbeg national school and later transferred to Bandon where she later became principal. Kitty  prepared many young people for Feis Maitiú, and also achieved a hole-in-one in golf at the age of 83. She won two Lady Captain’s prizes and was a winning bridge player, even at the tender age of 99.

Kitty passed away peacefully last week, at the age of 102.

To watch Kitty's video, paste this link into your browser:

https://www.facebook.com/catherine.odonoghue18/videos/vb.633926899/10153181132801900/?type=3&theater

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