'Mother of the Undertones' laid to rest in Derry

Geraldine, who passed away peacefully on Christmas Day at Cornfield Care Home, Limavady, was originally from the Waterside area of Derry and took pride in that.

Geraldine’s son Jim wrote: “Gerry, as she was also known, was born in the Waterside and later lived in the Bishop Street area. She was always proud of her roots and would often proudly tell people that she was a Waterside girl.

"She left school at the age of 14 to work as a shop assistant in Gordons Drapery store in Carlisle Road. She met her husband Louis a few years later and they got married on St. Stephen’s Day 1953. They had 5 children, Jim, John, Vincent, Damian and Deirdre who grew up in a household full of love and warmth and, because of that close upbringing, they have remained a tight family unit ever since.

“She very proud of her children in their various paths of life and was particularly proud of John and Damien when they achieved success with the Undertones.

"Vincent was also part of the group in the early days but she persuaded him to leave to study for his O levels.

"In the early days of the band, both she and Louis displayed a high degree of patience and tolerance in enabling the band to practice in one of the bedrooms, often coming downstairs in the morning to find various unknown bodies of friends lying on the sofa or floor staying overnight.

"She was a beautiful singer in her own right and had a particular fondness for singing Danny Boy as part of her repertoire at various family parties.

“In the early 70s, Geraldine had the opportunity to take part in a new and innovative initiative at Magee College called the Foundation Studies course.

"This provided access to Higher Education for mature adults who had no formal educational qualifications. She passed the course with flying colours and achieved a distinction and duly gained entry to the Health and Social Studies degree course at Coleraine University.

“Geraldine was always a strong willed, independent woman, grounded in the community, whose values embraced social justice and fairness for all, especially to women.

"In the late 70s, she was part of a movement of like-minded women in the city who saw the need for a women’s refuge for those who experienced domestic abuse.

"Alongside people like Cathy Harkin, Avila Kilmurray, Toni Devine, and Eileen Evason, she set about campaigning for, and actively establishing somewhere where those who needed it could feel safe and secure.

“They identified a derelict building in Pump Street and squatted and occupied it. It was to become the first women’s refuge in the city and Women’s Aid has grown from strength to strength ever since.

“She is survived by her sisters Nuala and Gaby and her brothers Aidan, Noel and Paul and predeceased by her sister Anna, brothers Bosco and Niall and her father and mother John and Anna Heaney.”