Tributes have been paid following the death of former Cork East Green party candidate Natasha Harty who was the daughter of the late chef Myrtle Allen.
Ms Harty, a long-time environmental activist, stood for the party in the 2014 local elections and in the 2016 general election in the Cork East constituency.
Cork Greens chairwoman Eithne Lynch said Ms Harty’s death was a sad loss to the environmental movement in east Cork.
“She had a long-time involvement in Chase [the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment] over two decades and was more recently active in the Midleton Climate Aware Group.”
Chase is an alliance of groups formed in the early 2000s to stop the construction of a large commercial incinerator in Cork.
“Love of nature and the environment was central to Natasha’s whole life,” Ms Lynch added. “She was a member of Eco Congregation Ireland and a strong advocate of their belief that Christians have a responsibility to care for the Earth and to be environmentally aware and active.”
Green Party councillor in East Cork, Liam Quaide, emphasised the impact Ms Harty had on her community.
“Natasha was an exceptionally caring person who was held in the highest regard within her community. She was known for her many low-key acts of kindness towards others.
“[She] had a deep connection with nature and with her community, and was unafraid to stand up for both in her environmental activism. She had the courage to put herself forward as an election candidate for the Green Party and she was a founding member of Climate Aware Midleton. She was respected by us all as an elder with much wisdom to share. Her death is a huge loss to East Cork.”
Ms Harty is survived by her husband Michael, her siblings Wendy, Tim, Rory, Yasmin and Fern, her children Féidhlim, Malachy, Cormac and Brigid, and her grandchildren.
She will be lying in repose at Hyde’s Funeral Home, Midleton on Monday from 6.30pm until 8pm. A Quaker funeral service will be held at 11am at the Grainstore, Ballymaloe on Tuesday.