{"id":539225,"date":"2026-07-08T12:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T12:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/539225\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T12:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T12:53:15","slug":"her-legacy-in-cork-remains-strong-tributes-paid-to-musical-force-of-nature-ronnie-oshaughnessy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/539225\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Her legacy in Cork remains strong&#8217;: Tributes paid to musical &#8216;force of nature&#8217; Ronnie O\u2019Shaughnessy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\">Glowing tributes have been paid to one of Cork\u2019s most influential cultural figures, Ronnie O\u2019Shaughnessy, who has died following a short illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"> Ms O\u2019Shaughnessy, of Turner\u2019s Cross, was heavily involved in the music scene across Leeside, having worked as the musical director with the Monfort College of Performing Arts for more than 20 years, as well as serving as the musical director for \u2018Summer Revels\u2019 and the pantomime at Cork Opera House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"> Throughout her career she also served as a member of the teaching staff at the Munster Technological University (MTU) School of Music, performed with the RT\u00c9 Concert Orchestra, and appeared in various productions including &#8216;The Heiress&#8217;, \u2018Nunsense&#8217;, &#8216;Our Town&#8217;, and played Vera Charles in &#8216;Mame&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu caption\">Deeply saddened<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Speaking to The Echo, a spokesperson for Cork Opera House said they were \u201cdeeply saddened to learn of the loss of Ronnie\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cShe was a hugely important figure in the history of Cork Opera House,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cAs musical director of our panto for many, many years, she played a significant role in its success, the impact of which can still be seen today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cShe was also the musical director of\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.echolive.ie\/corknews\/arid-41414944.html\">\u2018Summer Revels\u2019<\/a>, a show that ran at Cork Opera House for over 20 years providing generations of audiences and artists with quality entertainment and home grown shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\n            \u201cShe was a force of nature, a hugely admired and beloved member of the Cork Opera House extended family.\n        <\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\n            \u201cHer legacy in Cork remains very strong. May She Rest in Peace.\u201d\n        <\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">A spokesperson for the Monforts Singers said that Ms O\u2019Shaughnessy was \u201crenowned not only for her exceptional musical gifts, but also for her glamour, her razor-sharp wit, and her unforgettable personality\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cFollowing only a short illness, her passing has come as a great shock,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cRight up to the very end, she continued to enjoy life, attending her bridge games regularly and faithfully meeting her Montfort ladies every Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cThat was Ronnie\u2014full of spirit, friendship and fun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cOur deepest sympathies go to Ronnie\u2019s family, friends, colleagues and everyone whose life she touched.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu caption\">One of a kind<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cRest in peace Ronnie. You truly were one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Actress Rebecca Allman offered her \u201cdeepest sympathy to all of Ronnie\u2019s family at this sad time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cNot alone was Ronnie a fantastic musical director, but she was also an accomplished actress and I was privileged to share the stage with her in a couple of plays in which she made each role her own,\u201d said Ms Allman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cShe had a quick wit and loved the chats with all age groups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cHer fashion sense was second to none and I am the proud owner of a beautiful coat and dress which she generously passed on to me.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cMay she be joyfully reunited with family and fellow theatre friends in Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu caption\">Held in the highest regard<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Gerard Canniffe, president of the Cork Bridge Club said Ms O\u2019Shaughnessy \u201cdecorated our lives with her rare jewel of a voice and continued to contribute to our cultured life to the present day\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cWe also remember her many friends here in the bridge club with whom she shared the bridge table and was held in the highest regard,\u201d said Mr Canniffe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cRonnie was more than just a master of the cards, she was a master of conversation bringing grace, wisdom, and masterful strategy to the bridge table for decades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cWe were honoured that she organised the music and hymns for our annual memorial service for deceased members of the club last November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cRest in peace to an extraordinary talent and a true legend.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Glowing tributes have been paid to one of Cork\u2019s most influential cultural figures, Ronnie O\u2019Shaughnessy, who has died&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[79,57584,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-539225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cork-news","tag-cork-opera-house","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}