The sister of tragic Fair City actress Jean Costello has said her life will be remembered in a celebration “full of singing and dancing”.
Best known for her role as Rita Doyle on the RTE soap, the 76-year-old passed away on St Stephen’s Day after a dementia battle.
Her sister Sylvia Murray said: “Jean will be cremated and then afterwards we will celebrate her life by singing and dancing as she would have wanted.
“Especially by playing one of her favourite songs, Stand By Me by Ben E King. She learned to play it on the guitar and tin whistle.”
Jean passed away at 2pm on December 26 but not before spending one more precious moment with her family.
Sylvia added: “She spent Christmas Day with us but wasn’t well and had to be brought back to hospital.
“On the day she died, she was surrounded by her whole family – children, siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws.
“The doctors and nurses kept looking at us as there must have been 50 to 60 family members there. She got a big send-off.”
Jean, who lived in Dublin’s Mountjoy Square, played the legendary Carrigstown character for 24 years before bowing out of the show in 2013.
