KEEPING a connection with home can take all forms, but for the Dinneen family from Caheragh it was through the pages of The Southern Star.

The act of posting a paper that contained all of the happenings of home is kind in and of itself, but the weekly habit is also an act of service, a way of letting relatives in England know they were not forgotten.

Mary Dinneen of Barna, Caheragh, passed away last October, followed six short months later by her brother John Dinneen on Saturday March 6th.

Throughout their lives they remained closely connected to their family, Caheragh and Skibbereen, through The Southern Star. 

In 1951, John Dinneen left Ireland and went to the UK in search of work. There, he joined his older brother Tadgh, and his cousins Mick, Joe, Paddy and Corney. 

John had shared a home with Paddy, but when Paddy died in 1982 it left him feeling a bit lonesome, so Mary, at the age of 50, took the brave decision to join him in Blackpool.

Kathleen Dinneen, who was married to the eldest brother, Diarmuid, made sure the brother and sister stayed connected to home by sending them the newspaper every week. 

Kathleen would buy it on a Thursday, carefully wrap it in brown paper, and post it to England, where it would arrive the following Wednesday.

It was a routine that continued for almost nine years until Kathleen passed away in 1991.

Knowing how much The Southern Star meant to John and Mary, their nephew, who is also called John, contacted the late Liam O’Regan, the owner and editor of the newspaper, who kindly arranged for it to be posted directly to his aunt and uncle, and they were delighted to receive it two days earlier on a Monday.

This continued for many years until Brexit, when The Southern Star began sending a weekly consignment to Eamonn Browne of Browne's Newsagents and Distributors and it was John who paid for the weekly paper to be delivered directly to their door.

Mary and John are fondly remembered by their nephews Denis, Dj and John; their nieces Mary, Margaret, Patricia, Tessie, and Helen; their extended family, friends and neighbours. 

Their nephew, John said: 'Their lives reflected our strong family ties as well as the community spirit of their generation.

'For nine years from 1982 to 1991, when she passed away, Kathleen sent them the paper. Then, I took over and continued for the last 45 years, or so, right up to the last edition on Thursday March 5th'

John, who was in England with his uncle before he passed away, placed that last edition in the coffin alongside him. 'He didn't get to read it, not like all the others over the previous 50-plus years, but at least he could take it with him.

'It's with him now,' said John, 'in his final resting place, following requiem mass in Caheragh, at Drimoleague Old Graveyard.' 

A photograph of the two Johns and Mary reading The Southern Star was taken at their home in the UK in 2023 and John arranged for it to appear in, guess what, The Southern Star.

'It gave them no end of pleasure,' said John, 'because it was the first time that either of them ever saw themselves in print.'