Mary Catherine Kennedy
Place of birth: Buffalo, NY.
What is your profession? Registered Professional Nurse/ Professor Emeritus.
How do you celebrate your Irishness? I am very proud to be Irish and enjoy celebrating my heritage by spending time with my family and friends listening to Irish music and watching the dancers, including many of my grandchildren, at concerts and festivals. My husband and I often attend performances at the Irish Classical Theater. I am a member of the Gaelic-American Association of Women at the Buffalo Irish Center. This coming weekend I am excited to honor St. Patrick’s Day by attending mass, our annual Mayor’s breakfast, and both the Old Neighborhood First Ward parade and the Downtown Buffalo St. Patrick’s Day parade. Our whole family will gather together after the parade for a large Irish celebration at the Knights of Columbus Hall in our neighborhood.
Name a hero you admire and why? A heroine of mine is Saint Marguerite D’Youville for the acts of service she contributed to her family and community over her lifetime. She persevered through an enormous amount of tragedy and poverty, and helped all those around her in need. She helped form the Sisters of Charity, an order of nuns. She always believed in never refusing to serve. The nuns became the Gray Nuns of the Sacred Heart, who founded D’Youville College, my Alma mater, and continued to carry on her message of I never refusing to serve.
Something people would be surprised to know about me... While I have lived as a Buffalonian for my entire life, I truly enjoy traveling to other states and countries with my husband, Martin, whom I have been happily married to for 55 years. We have enjoyed cruises through the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic Ocean, and even to the Northern Atlantic countries. We have been fortunate to travel all throughout Europe, including three times to Ireland. We have had many exchange students from all over the world, including Ireland.
Biography: I was born in Buffalo into a large Irish-American family, the daughter of policeman and teacher, Charles and Dorothy Wilson. I am the third of six children, with three brothers and two sisters. Growing up, I attended Holy Family, Mount Mercy Academy, and D'Youville College where I began my study of nursing. I continued my education over the years to obtain my teacher's certification and master’s degrees in education and nursing. After marrying my husband Marty in 1968, we were blessed with 5 children, two daughters and three sons, Margaret, Maureen, Timothy, Patrick, and John. Since then, our family has continued to bloom. I am now the proud grandmother of 15 grandchildren ranging in ages from 20 years to 1 year old. I am very blessed and honored to receive the recognition of the Irish Echo and the Heroes of Irish America.
