A tribute to Anne Kavanagh

by Sarah Kay

Anne was a long-standing member of IAHIP, a trusted and respected therapist and supervisor, and involved in setting up the Irish Gestalt Centre. She died on June 21st, the summer solstice. Her funeral on Saturday June 24th, was on a hot sunny day and was a moving celebration of her life with a large attendance of family and particularly of young people. The service, designed by Anne, was zoomed so that colleagues and friends in Ireland and across the world could share in the occasion.

The book of condolence attests to how much people loved Anne. Words appear such as decency, kindness, compassion, groundedness, integrity, warmth and loyalty, all qualities we

would not just look for in a good therapist but also in a sincere and lovely human being. Anne was a great therapist and a wonderful person.

Anne grew up in Cabra and just recently self-published a book about her family entitled Who do they think they are? It is a fascinating read about family life in Dublin and how Anne became shaped by her childhood experiences.

From an early age Anne was aware of the inequalities in society in relation to women and this led her to join the Soroptomists, a global voluntary group of professional people working to improve the education and lives of women and girls, where she became the National President in 1985. She was also chairwoman for the Council for the Status of Women 1977-1980 when she had the opportunity to visit Russia and Ukraine in 1979.

Anne organised workshops for women in the 1980s and it was out of these that she encouraged Joan O’Leary to come to Ireland and set up psychotherapy training in Gestalt therapy. Anne said that psychotherapy changed her life. It was on that first residential Gestalt personal development course in 1990 that I met Anne. Throughout her five-year training, not only was she a trainee and working full- time at Wiggins Teape, but she also assisted in the administration of the programme along with her sister, the late May Grills.

Gestalt provided Anne with her grounding, but she fully took to her wings following her training with Bert Hellinger, the founder of Family Constellations and healing family patterns became her life’s passion. Anne’s compassion and wisdom for healing families also spread to colleagues, clients, supervisees and supporting the bereaved through her parish funeral team.

Anne was also great fun; she became addicted to playing bridge, loved going on cruises and meeting people, dressing up, acting and having a good laugh.

A profound moment at Anne’s funeral service was when her coffin was wheeled slowly down the aisle of the church, not raised by men, but surrounded by women with their hands gently pushing their sister towards her final journey.

Anne, you will be missed by so many of us. I’m sure I speak for many when I say how privileged and happy we were to have known you.