Kolkata woman who became part of Fermanagh

(a slightly edited version of this obituary was published in the Irish Times Saturday November 22nd 2014)

Anita Mukherjee – born January 27^th 1957, died October 23^rd 2014

Anita Mukherjee, who has died in a Belfast hospital, was a native of Kolkata, India, who became part of life in her adopted home of Enniskillen. “Somehow I feel in tune with Fermanagh,” she said. She was a charismatic community worker there for a decade and a half. At meetings, she was the person people wanted to sit beside because she was fun.

Probably her biggest achievement was establishing Women of the World in Fermanagh. It fulfils a number of roles. Social events are organised to counteract the isolation of immigrant women. These are a lifeline for those from small immigrant groups.

Fermanagh Women of the World develops understanding of immigrant cultures among the host community. Ms Mukherjee saw that work as countering racism by breaking down barriers and getting rid of preconceptions.

She energetically promoted her Bengali culture, teaching its dance and cookery. She swept into classes in a whirlwind of cheerfulness, with bangles and sari. She took those classes into schools and youth clubs. As well as being a promoter of Bengali food, she was an equally energetic promoter of healthy eating. Her workshops on equality and diversity always deepened participants’ understanding.

As well as Women of the World, she was a member of Fermanagh Women’s Network, the Northern Ireland Rural Women’s Network, Fermanagh Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP), and the Soroptimists. In the PCPS she strongly advocated proper links with the community: and, being an immigrant, contributed vital insights.

She was born Anita Chatterji in January 1957 in Kolkata, India’s third-largest city, the eldest of four children, three girls and a boy. He father was an engineer, her mother a poet. The family was educated rather than rich. She received secondary education at the Loreto House in Kolkata, one of India’s most prestigious schools, run by Irish nuns from the Loreto Order. At the school she remembered encountering Mother Teresa. She continued her education with a degree in English from the University of Calcutta. At the turn of the century she left India when her husband became general manager of an engineering firm in Fermanagh. The county quickly became home, and she contributed greatly to its life.

She is survived by her husband Tapan, son Rohan, sisters Indrani and Debjani, and brother Rinku.

Austin Lynch - a link with the past

(a slightly edited version was first published in the Irish Times Saturday, November 1st)

Austin Lynch – born September 6^th 1937, died October 14^th 2014

Austin Lynch, who has died after a period of ill-health, was chairman of Ireland’s largest remaining family-owned newspaper group, the Omagh-based North West of Ireland Printing and Publishing Company, which publishes papers in Tyrone, Donegal and Fermanagh. As first Managing Director and then Chairman for many years, he oversaw the development of three new titles, new headquarters, and the transition to new technology. Under his stewardship, the Company kept and developed its own printing press.

Lynch was an old-style employer, with a concern for the welfare of staff and a belief in treating them fairly. He was an old-style newspaperman too. For many years, he wrote editorials. He believed journalists had to learn on the job. One journalist remembers doing her job interview in the morning, then being sent to cover Strabane District Council that evening.

Lynch’s life was more than newspapers and business. He was a talented musician. The piano was his love, and he enjoyed playing jazz and classical music. He also played trumpet, trombone and clarinet. For some years he was a member of a brass band. He lent his musical expertise to amateur dramatic productions. He had a love of literature and the arts. Beyond that, he had a great curiosity about the world round him. That meant he kept in touch with what was happening in his community.

What shaped him was that the Lynch Family was steeped in the newspaper business. Early in the last century, his grandfather had established the Company’s first title, the Ulster Herald newspaper in Omagh.

Lynch was born in that town in 1937, eldest of four children to Louis D Lynch and his wife Ita (née Mullan), both natives of Omagh. Louis D Lynch, as well as being managing director of the Company, was a playwright and for a time a Nationalist member of the Northern Ireland Senate.

Lynch was educated at the Christian Brothers Primary and Grammar Schools in Omagh, then obtained an honours degree in English from UCD. He taught briefly before entering the family business. As a young man he suffered from a serious speech impediment, but showed determination in overcoming it and making his mark on the provincial press.

Austin Lynch is survived by his daughter Veranne, son Austin, sisters Anita (Currie) and Norrie (Egan), brother Gerard, and grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Veronica.