Joyful Jolly will be dearly missed in New Ross
Jolly Ronan died peacefully on Thursday, January 12, following a tough year of illness.
The daughter of the late Paddy Ronan and Tessa O’Grady, she is survived by her loving husband Henry Tubritt and daughter Alex, as well as her brothers and sisters Billy, Frank, Benny, Pat, Paula, Des, Eric, Stan and Simon and her stepmother Yvonne Ronan.
Born in 1971, Jolly spent her childhood in the Maudlins in New Ross, Duncannon, and Dunganstown and moved to New Ross with her family at aged nine following the untimely death of her mother Tessa.
Jolly was a student at St Mary’s Secondary School and had a great group of friends there. She went to London after school where she worked in a variety of jobs including boat attendant in Hyde Park.
She then went to Holland for a stint working in the flower farms.
At the age of 24, Jolly went to Maynooth University to get her degree in anthropology and arts administration. She worked her way through college at Whelan’s music venue, her brother Billy’s shop and other arts and entertainment work.
Once she got her degree, Jolly worked in Kilkenny as the administrator in Crafts Council of Ireland for many years, supporting local artists and makers and helping to promote their work.
There followed her role in Publishing Ireland where she very successfully ran this not-for-profit group dedicated to helping Irish book publishers. Jolly was a much loved leader of a team of people who still kept in touch with her many years after she left.
Jolly and her husband Henry set up their own website development business – Spot On! – and provided fantastic services and support to lots of businesses across Ireland.
Jolly loved to travel, having done a lot of it when working for Publishing Ireland, and took quite a few family holidays.
She would take great pleasure in creating and planning itineraries to make each trip extra special. Jolly was a great camping enthusiast and loved organising expeditions with the extended family around the country. She rallied everyone together and made sure that these holidays were memorable and filled with joy.
In 2015 Jolly set up Full and Plenty Farm Shop in New Ross with her sister Paula and her daughter Alex who came on board soon after. The venture went on for eight years and was a great speciality food shop that Jolly was very passionate about.
Jolly and Paula’s love for good food and supporting local producers whilst boosting the local economy required a lot of hard work and dedication. Alex got to work in the shop full time and spent plenty of time beside her Mum learning everything.
Jolly always found humour in everything and whether you were working there with her or a supplier delivering to the shop or even a customer shopping there it was always infectious, she had a wonderful energy and larger than life personality that everyone was fond of.
During her whole time running Full & Plenty Jolly cared deeply about the environment, human rights, animal welfare and ethics in business.
She was hands on with every detail regarding products that she stocked there and made sure to promote those who were making a meaningful difference in society. She advocated for people to think about what they were consuming and how our behaviours impact the world around us. Jolly was very philosophical which rubbed off on her daughter and her niece Ellen who worked in the shop also. Plenty of messing and lots of laughs were had in the shop with Jolly.
A long-time hobby that Jolly enjoyed with family and friends was horse riding out in Oldcourt Stables in Ballykelly. Jolly would curse and scream on occasion over the jumps which would make everyone laugh.
Jolly loved hill walking, sea swimming, reading, picnics and staying connected to friends. She stuck with her principals, she took care of her family and she valued quality of life.
All who know Jolly would agree that she lived her life well, with integrity, positivity and an appreciation for the people and experiences that brought her joy.