Ireland

Veteran Irish Times nature columnist Ethna Viney to be laid to rest in Mayo

For 33 years she wrote the weekly Eye on Nature column for The Irish Times which appeared alongside her husband’s Michael’s nature columns

Michael and Ethna Viney at their home in Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo. Photograph: Michael McLaughlin

Conor Gallagher
Sun Apr 28 2024 - 19:09

Long-time Irish Times nature writer Ethna Viney is to be laid to rest in Co Mayo this weekend. Ms Viney (née Mc Manus), originally from Co Cavan, died peacefully on Friday in Mayo Hospice with her family by her side. She was 95.

Her husband, Micheal Viney, himself a veteran Irish Times journalist and nature writer, died almost exactly a year previously at the age of 90.

Ms Viney is to repose at Sweeney’s Funeral Home, Louisburgh, on Saturday, close to the couple’s rural home in Thallabawn in west Mayo. The couple moved there from Dublin in the 1970s to live their “other life” about which they wrote extensively.

There will be a celebration of Ms Viney’s life on Saturday followed by a private cremation.

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For 33 years she wrote the weekly Eye on Nature column for The Irish Times which appeared alongside Michael’s nature columns. An active feminist and qualified chemist, Ms Viney also spent time working for RTÉ and made a number of documentaries with her husband.

Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher is Crime and Security Correspondent of The Irish Times

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