‘I won’t be here forever’: A Dublin woman's 39-year-long Christmas mission

Sarah Slater

“I won’t be here forever, and these people cannot be left without,” is how a Dublin woman who has been providing Christmas dinners for the money and homeless for 39 years sees it.

Margaret Brown, from Sandycove in south Co Dublin, has been organising the festive feast since 1986, after she and her late mother witnessed people at a scout hall eating lumpy soup and cold meat while huddled around a gas-fired heater in a bid to keep warm.

“Running out of turkey 39 years ago when I first started cooking dinners with my mother I never thought I would be doing this all these years later. But thankfully I can still do this for how much longer I do not know,” explained Mrs Brown.

Mrs Brown, whose only child is married and living in Thailand had, up until Covid-19 hit in 2020, held an annual festive feast in Blackrock Rugby Club, but the pandemic forced her and scores of volunteers to resort to making take-out meals instead.

In the past, high-profile names such as rockers U2 have surprised guests at the annual dinner when people gathered at the rugby club.

But now the new tradition of delivering the five course feast of a full Christmas dinner, with pudding and mince pies, is here to stay for those giving of their time to help others.

The pandemic created a whole new Christmas tradition, a determined Mrs Brown who keeps herself busy giving to others not just during the festive period but throughout her life.

“I won’t be here forever, but I’ll keep making the dinners with the help of so many wonderful volunteers thanks to donations we receive from food producers,” said Mrs Brown who said she will carry on with her labour of love until she can’t continue on any longer.

She revealed that those hoping to avail of the sumptuous festive feast, surpassed 200 of which is normally the cut-off number of people Mrs Brown and her team can cook for.

“The numbers we could provide for filled our list way in advance of the cut off date. There are so many new people, many of whom are younger, not just older individuals who are lonely and homeless which is shocking,” revealed Mrs Brown.

“In the blink of an eye 39 years have passed since I decided to make Christmas dinners all that time ago with my mother. There have been a lot of changes in social needs over those years and food provisions have to meet those demands.”

The team of volunteers will be cooking up a filling festive feast for 60 people living in Bethany House for those of whom are homeless in Dún Laoghaire and an extra special meal for Travellers living in Carrickmines who lost several family members in a blaze 10 years ago.

“It takes a lot of preparation in the lead up to Christmas Day, receiving donations, streamlining of cooking times, delivering the food to people, or them calling to the rugby club at specific times and ensuring no-one is forgotten.

Not only is Mrs Brown known as the Christmas dinner lady, the Dublin woman, in 2019, became well known for helping to bring the remains of an Irish man back to Ireland as he had no known relatives still alive to help prepare a funeral for him. He was Joseph Tuohy from Toomevara, Co Tipperary.

Mr Tuohy was separated from his mother at age five and spent his childhood in orphanages and St Joseph's Industrial School in Clonmel.

He emigrated to London in his late teens and never returned to Ireland, losing contact with his family. He experienced periods of homelessness and illness in London.

After his death at around 87-years-old, Brian Boylan, who runs the St Gabriel's Homeless Centre in London, became his next of kin and wanted to ensure Joseph had a proper send-off.

He contacted Mrs Brown, who is also a volunteer for the Friends of the Forgotten Irish Emigrants, who launched an appeal for people to attend his funeral and for any potential relatives to come forward.

His ashes were subsequently laid to rest in consecrated ground in Tipperary.

“Look all I do is try to help people as best I can, I didn’t set-out for my life to be like this, or to become known for trying to help others, but life can be so difficult for so many and if I can help someone I will,” added Mrs Brown.