Tributes have been paid to a stalwart of the Manx Celtic League.
Deirdre Moffatt, who was a long-standing member of the Celtic League for almost 40 years, died last month following a battle against a crippling and debilitating illness.
Her husband Bernard, former Manx Trades Union Council president and director of information for the Celtic League, said: ‘Dee will be sorely missed by all who knew her – but her character, contribution and determination will not be forgotten.’
Born in Douglas in February 1951, Dee was the only daughter of Frank Moore, a Manx publican and his Irish wife Monica from Athy in Co Kildare. As a consequence, her pan-Celtic connections at birth were strong and further reinforced through holidays she and her brothers spent at her mother’s family home in Ireland and also with other relatives in Wales.
After completing her education on the Isle of Man, she undertook teacher training in England. After a brief period of employment there, she returned to the island and worked for the Board (later Department) of Education until her retirement three years ago.
Becoming involved in Manx cultural activities, she joined Banglane Twoaie (the Northern Branch of Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh, the Manx Language Society) and also various Manx dance groups. Her contribution and commitment to traditional dance ensured she became a recognisable face on and off the island, through public performances at home and abroad – most notably Celtic festivals in Brittany and Ireland.
Politically she was active from the late seventies onwards in the Celtic League and Mec Vannin. She participated in the campaign by the Manx branch of the Celtic League and the AMA (Anti-Militarist-Alliance) against the expansion of the Jurby Sea-Bombing Range used by NATO. As part of the Isle of Man Peace Group, she joined the Europe-wide campaign against the deployment of Cruise missiles in the UK and Germany in the early 1980s. Dee was a committed feminist and supported the Manx feminist group EVE. She was a stalwart of the Celtic League. Over many years, she quietly and without recognition helped organise the annual schools’ art and crafts exhibition at Yn Chruinnaght and fund raisers for Mec Vannin and the Celtic League. She leaves behind her husband Bernard, daughter Celia and three grandchildren. Her burial took place at Peel cemetery on May 24.