Kildare woman and theatre manager Celine Garvey is remembered

On the May bank holiday Monday some 100 people gathered to remember a loved one who has passed - Naas woman, Celine Garvey.

The event was organised to remember the bubbliest of people in a way reflecting her outlook on life. It was certainly more of a party than a solemn evening, exactly as she’d have wanted.

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Celine was the manager of the Moat Theatre in Naas until her passing from cancer (at the age of 44) a year ago and so it was very fitting that this celebration of her life took place at that very venue.

Celine accomplished so much in her way too short a time. 

The youngest daughter of Noel and Josie Garvey, she attended school in St Marys College, before studying Art, Mixed Media, Art Design and Education in BCFE and NCAD. She qualified at the top of her class and received the “Education Award” on graduating.

Celine's Zumba crew

She’s been quoted as saying that she always "enjoyed explaining things to people and teaching them" so an art teacher seemed the obvious way to go but that wasn't to be. 

She did give it a go for a while, but she was too creative to be restricted to a curriculum. Although she loved teaching, it was the creative arts that were her true calling and that call literally came when she won an RTE radio competition and ended up with a presenting role on the station. 

This in turn led to local radio work with  Kfm which she continued to do alongside her theatre manager role right up to her diagnosis with cancer. Her artistic side was always to the fore growing up (from fancy dress parties to creating something from what others would consider nothing) and when she started working in the theatre world it was obvious that this was where she fitted in. She worked in total for 15 years at the Moat Theatre, with the last six as manager where she was both the manager and the face of the theatre.

Over the years she did the complete opposite to shying away from the public eye and ended up on various TV shows. The last major one was when her home was featured on RTEs Home Rescue program where her energy and can-do approach was evident. She loved friends and loved being a friend and she was the best of friends to so so many.

The event took place at the Moat Theatre in Naas

Once diagnosed (in Feb '23) Celine decided the best way to deal with this was publicly and she went on a Social Media campaign to let people know. She posted to her followers and friends most days, recording every step of the way but at the same time telling her daughter Elanor (Celine was a single Mam) what she needed to be told and preparing her for all the possible outcomes.

She fought every step of the way from the initial diagnosis, right through all the rounds of chemotherapy to the very end. 

The “Remembering Celine” event started off with the Moat Writers Club book launch. This in itself was a first, as the book titled "All the falling stars" was the first ever poetry publication by the group. It is a collection of reflections on life, love and loss and is dedicated to Celine who founded the club during her time at the Moat Theatre and it is still available at the Theatre Cafe.

Some of the attendance

There was also an exhibition of Celine's art pieces (she was also an accomplished artist), alongside a showcasing of local upcoming music talent (she was always encouraging new younger artists to “do their thing”).

Various music acts performed through the evening event. Pete and Pam Kavanagh sang some beautifully acoustic cover versions of some of Celine's favourite songs and ‘The Piano Man’ John Forde (who actually taught Celine to play keyboard), performed some all time classics and singalongs which kept the crowd duly entertained.

Celine was a founding member of the local ZC Top Zumba group and fellow members paid tribute to Celine and her love for dancing by performing once more in her memory. Celine’s brother Rob then got behind the decks for a Celine DJ Megamix, playing only songs from Celine's personal playlist.

The Muddy River Band then also performed, and played a set that had the theatre enthralled as they covered Dylan, Petty, Young & many others.

The finale for the evening turned the theatre into a giant karaoke for one of Celines favourite songs “It must be love”. As people sung along to the many happy images of Celine, the conclusion was that yes, it most definitely must’ve been love. Proceeds  from the event were donated to the Friends of Naas Hospital.

Celine Garvey may no longer be with us, but going on just this night alone she’ll most definitely never be forgotten.