Freda enjoyed her time serving pints behind the Dragon bar

FREDA Murphy, who ran the Dragon Inn pub in Tallaght Village for many decades alongside her husband Jim, has been remembered as a witty and funny woman and a loving mother after passing away on Thursday, May 5, aged 84.

Freda grew up in the Liberties, as the fourth of 12 children, and had a happy childhood playing with her siblings and neighbours.

She had fond memories of Irish dancing in Thomas Street, getting apples at the orchard near the Phoenix Park and cycling around the city in her younger years.

In January 1958, Freda went to her cousin’s wedding where she approached the groom’s best friend, Jim, who became the love of her life.

Freda and Jim married in the John’s Lane Church on James’ Street on June 3, 1961, and the following year they started their family with the birth of their daughter, Siobhan.

The couple went on to have five children, with Siobhan recalling her mother as a strict but fair woman, who always showed her children unconditional love.

Freda is remembered as witty and funny and very kind

“She was strict, but she was gentle,” Siobhan told The Echo.

“She was very kind, and she had unconditional love and forgiveness.

“My mother was an amazing cook, and anytime that anyone would come in, she’d welcome them in and feed them.

“She was also a terrific knitter, and she knitted sweaters for all of us.”

Siobhan added: “She was very witty and funny. She had a wicked sense of humour.”

On December 9, 1969, Freda’s husband Jim bought the Dragon Inn, with the couple and their children living above the pub for the first four years, before moving to a house in Tallaght Village.

Freda was a familiar face to many who came into the Dragon, and she enjoyed her time serving pints behind the bar – even though she always had to wear heels, as her short stature meant she couldn’t see over the bar without them.

The impact of the Dragon on the community is apparent in a card that Freda and Jim received in 1994, signed by 90 members of the Tallaght Senior Citizens Club, which commended them on the 25th anniversary of the pub.

When they were in their 50s, Jim and Freda stepped back from the pub, which is now run by their son Shay, and travelled the world together and developed new hobbies.

“My mother was an amazing golfer, she took it up when she was 56 and played until March 2020,” said Siobhan.

“She did everything that she wanted to do.

I was looking at a slideshow of photos of her and my dad at her funeral, and I thought, ‘My god, didn’t they have a fabulous life’.”

Reflecting on the impact Freda had on her children, Siobhan said: “For me, my mother was love.

“She was strict, she never let us get away with a thing and she was very grounded.

“But she would do anything she could for you, she was an amazing lady.”

Freda Murphy (neé Farrelly), beloved wife of Jim for 62 years, loving and much-loved mammy of Siobhan, Shay, Patricia, Fiona and Kieran, passed away on Thursday, May 5.

Her funeral Mass was held in St Mary’s Priory in Tallaght Village on Monday, May 9, followed by burial in Kilmashogue Cemetery.