‘A thousand welcomes’ for terminally ill lady

A terminally ill American lady discovered Ireland’s ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ in spades after a local woman helped her to realise a life-long dream to visit Ireland, and Cavan.
Kathryn Doyon posted a message on the Facebook page ‘Ireland of a Thousand Welcomes’ - the brainchild of Killeshandra woman Pauline McDermott.
Kathryn from Plymouth, Massachusetts, joined Pauline’s Facebook page, which has an impressive 187,000 followers.
After learning of Kathryn’s ambition to visit Ireland and her situation, Pauline set up a GoFundMe page and raised over €4,000 to make the trip a reality.
“It is amazing that the people of Ireland have been so generous to a complete stranger,” said an overwhelmed Kathryn, whose maternal ancestors emigrated from Ireland to America during the Great Famine.
“It has been a lot of hard work but will be very rewarding to see and hear about all the adventures,” said Pauline.
A singer for 16 years, Pauline is now a promoter and takes great pride in showcasing new talented singer/songwriters from the region.
The Anglo-Celt caught up with Kathryn in Cabra Castle last week when she enthused that she was “having a wonderful time”.
Kathryn had come across from spending time in Westport, Drumcliffe and the Marble Arch Caves.
She arrived in Ireland at Shannon on April 25 with her son Christopher and her daughter Sallon.
As they sat in the dining room in Cabra Castle, Pauline said the entire episode had been “the most humbling experience of my life, apart from giving birth to my two children”.
The two ladies are now firm friends and going to remain in contact.
Emma Martin from Drumconrath came along to play beautiful music on the harp for the special guest.
Emma Gorman, the banqueting manager at Cabra Castle, said it is was a privilege to host Kathryn and her family. “It is lovely we could accommodate her - it is something special. She is a lovely lady.”
When they left Cabra Castle, it was then onto Tullamore and then back to Ellen Murphy’s home in Cork, with the help of tour guide Donncha Sheerin.
Kathryn and her family returned to the States last Friday with great memories of Cavan and Ireland.
Claddagh Jewellers in Galway gave Kathryn and her family a lasting memento of their trip - a beautiful Claddagh ring.
An emotional Kathryn said: “A warm thank to the people of Ireland before I leave. They have been so kind and generous. I have never met a nicer people. I’m going to tell everyone to go to Ireland when I go back to the States.”
A school bus driver, Kathryn has been forced to give up work due to her illness.
But she is hopeful she has a few years of life left yet to enjoy. “I have read that 50% of the people make it to two and half years and 11% per cent make it to five. I suppose, with the advances in medicine, that I can go longer because I am doing really well now.”
Kathryn has an appointment on May 13 when she hopes to learn more.
Kathryn described Pauline as a “saint” for all she has done: “I could never have come over here without her efforts. Joe Ormonde and Pauline have made it possible for me to see so many places here. This is like a dream holiday – I just can’t believe it.”