'Bittersweet' for Kathleen as she retires from library service

Although she freely admits that she has retired from the Westmeath Library Service “on the grounds of age” Athlone's Kathleen Cleary has no intention of slowing down just yet!

“I will reach the ripe old age of 70 in January, and as long as I continue to enjoy good health I will keep myself busy,” vows the Carrick-O-Brien resident who was one of the most familiar faces in Athlone library for two decades before being appointed branch manager of Moate Library over five years ago.

Kathleen Cleary actually applied for the job in Moate Library at a time when most people would be actively thinking about retirement. “When the legislation changed to allow public servants to work until 70, I took advantage of it and I was really delighted to get another five years doing the job that I loved,” she says.

Although her 14 grandchildren are “all in school” and don't need minding at this stage, Kathleen is hoping to be able to spend a bit more time with them now that she has retired. She also adds that she might spend “a bit of time with the horses” that her husband, Tom, a well-known trainer, has. “I'm not sure how they will cope with having me around every day,” she laughs, “but I suppose they'll have to get used to me.”

The Athlone woman took a somewhat circuitous route to joining the Westmeath Library Service in 2000, having worked in Ericsson for over 15 years. After taking time out from the workforce following the birth of her two youngest children, twins Thomas and Rory, Kathleen started working in the arts department of what is now TUS in their Northgate Street building, and this eventually led to her returning to college for three years as a part-time night student to study computer technology.

A part-time job in the college followed on from this, where she learned “so much from the students” and when she saw a job advertised in Athlone Library in 2000 she applied and got the job. “I'm an all-or-nothing type of person so part-time work didn't suit me," she points out. The library job was “probably one of the nicest jobs I ever had” she says “and I really loved meeting the public and helping them in any way I could.”

Her colleagues in Moate Library organised a special surprise send-off for Kathleen Cleary on Friday evening last complete with music, flowers, a cake and many tributes, and she admits that she was “completely and totally” taken by surprise. “I would normally be very aware of everything going on around me, but I didn't suspect a thing,” she says, adding that felt she “didn't deserve it” as she was only doing her job. “Retiring was a bittersweet moment – I was happy and sad at the same time” she says.

While she says she she will “really miss the public” that she has spent so many years interacting with, she is excited to be “moving on to the next chapter” of her life. “I have no plans, all I want is to continue to get good health at this stage.”