‘If it happened to her, it could happen to anyone’ — how death of much-loved homeless woman Ann Delaney has hit a nerve

“If it happened to her, it could happen to anyone, that’s how people feel and that terrifies us. It’s why her death has struck such a nerve,” said a Dublin city garda who met Ann many times during her years sleeping rough.

“Many people presume homeless people are all drug addicts, from deprived areas, with nowhere to go. Some of them are. But some homeless people, like Ann, have an entirely different back story. The reality is, we are all only ever a couple of steps away from veering off life’s path and ending up like Ann.”

The mother of one, from Dromagh, Co Laois, was found unconscious on ­Aungier Street last Sunday. She was taken to St James’s Hospital, where she later died. Her 17-year-old daughter, Saoirse, was chief mourner at her funeral on Thursday.

The outpouring of love and sympathy that followed her death showed the impact she had on everyone she met in Dublin over the years. Her kindness shone through even on the darkest of days and she was always first to support others who were struggling, according to her friends. But she was privately battling her own demons, said people who knew her.

Hundreds showed up to a vigil last Monday to mark her death. People swapped stories about the kind-hearted woman who was known to offer food to passers-by and loved doing puzzles and word games with those who stopped to chat.

Ann could often be found writing poetry while sitting outside Tesco on Aungier Street and was quick with a smile and a kind word for anyone who engaged with her.

“Ann was someone who would give you her last euro. You will not meet one person who will say one negative thing about Ann, because she never treated anyone badly,” said Chris O’Reilly, who runs the Liberty Soup Run.

“She was a character. She wrote me a lovely poem once, that I’ve kept. She was a talented writer. She loved music. Aslan were one of her favourites.

“When I would meet her, we’d always have a chat and she’d ask for my phone to play a song. Twenty minutes later she’d still have my phone playing songs, always great songs, she just really loved music. Ann will not be forgotten by us. She was more than a friend, she was our family too.”

She had a smile that could light up a room

Ann Delaney’s path to homelessness was not a predictable one. Growing up in Dromagh, she was bright, sporty and popular. She decided to study nursing after her Leaving Cert, a profession that suited her perfectly, according to independent Laois councillor Ben Brennan, who knew her well growing up.

“Ann was one of the loveliest girls you could ever meet. What you saw was what you got. She had a smile that could light up a room,” he said.

“I was heavily involved in St Abban’s Athletic Club and Ann was a great athlete. She won Overall Athlete of the Club a couple of times, she was that talented as a youngster on the track and at the long jump.

“But Ann was so much more than her sporting achievements. She was loving and generous in her words and actions. She was respectful to everyone and she had a fabulous manner. She was a people’s person, very outgoing but also caring. When I heard she went to study nursing, I thought I couldn’t think of any profession more suitable to her nature. She had something very special about her, it’s hard to explain.

“She was a credit to her family. I’ve just come from her funeral and it was one of the saddest funeral masses I’ve ever attended.”

Ann was laid to rest on Thursday in a rural church in Doonane, Co Laois, which felt a million miles away from where she chose to live, on the streets of Dublin city centre.

She came from a supportive family, but her own struggles left her unable to live among loved ones, including her daughter. It is understood Ann suffered from a mental health difficulty, which her family tried numerous times to help her with over the years.

At her funeral mass, her sister, Róisín, said her death had left them devastated and with unanswered questions.

“As a family, we never understood why Ann chose to live like she did. Over the last number of years it has been incredibly frustrating and painful that Ann would not accept the help that so many people had offered her.

“Family, friends and professionals offered her as much support as they could, but sadly it was to no avail.

“The outpouring of grief for Ann showed how loved she was and how she brought positivity into people’s lives, though she was struggling herself.

“Ann always knew she had a home in Dromagh and a family that loved her very much.”

Mr O’Reilly said the outreach work he is involved in means never asking people on the streets why they ended up in the situation. Ann was “a private and proud person”, he recalled, saying he did not know she was a qualified nurse.

She had combined her love of the profession with a desire to see the world. She travelled and worked in Australia, Guernsey and England before returning to Ireland.

“We don’t ask people about their background,” Mr O’Reilly said. “And I’ve found out a lot about Ann since she died. I did know that her family were great people, and always tried to help and support her.”

​Liberty Soup Run, which has 30 ­volunteers and travels around Dublin seven nights a week with two vans feeding the homeless and providing them with sleeping bags and other essentials, organised the vigil for Ann last Monday on Aungier Street.

“No one wants to end up on the streets, but the truth is, Ann found comfort on the streets,” Mr O’Reilly said. “She had been staying in a hostel some time back, but that closed down. She really didn’t feel safe in any other hostels — most of them are mixed, and she said she preferred the streets.

“She simply couldn’t find a hostel where she felt safe. Some of them are dreadful places. The Government needs to provide more women-only and men-only hostels. Ann was someone who was more-so on her own than in the company of others, though she knew everyone. She was content on her own. She tried to live happily. She always tried to bring joy. She had her good days and her bad days, like us all.”​

Liberty Soup Run, which receives no government funding, is always looking for donations, which are particularly welcome after freezing conditions like those experienced this weekend.

Mr O’Reilly said: “I last saw Ann just a couple of weeks ago. I thought she wasn’t in the greatest form, but we had a nice chat and a coffee. She always tried to put a smile on her face.

“It’s not straightforward for many people who end up homeless. Believe me, there are plenty more Anns out there. All of our team want to send all our love and condolences to Ann’s family.”

The Delaney family are well-known and respected in their community in Laois and have sought privacy as they try to come to terms with Ann’s sudden death.

She is survived by her mother Mary, brothers Thomas, John, Ciaran and Paul and sisters Siobhán, Tricia, Róisín and Emer. Her daughter was described by her aunt Róisín at the funeral as somebody who embodied her mother’s “kind nature”.

“The family are lovely, kind, decent people,” said Mr Brennan. “Her daughter won’t want for anything, in terms of love and support. May Ann rest in peace.”