Limerick woman remembered as 'a beautiful soul and a strong independent lady’

BRIGID Stapleton, wife of the legendary Limerick barber, the late Pat Stapleton, has been remembered as “a beautiful soul and a strong independent lady”.

Now reunited with her life partner after five years apart, Brigid and Pat were a team, known to generations of local families who got their hair cut at their shop overlooking O’Connell Street in the city centre.

The pair worked together since the 1970s after being married and their eldest daughter, Dr Nicola Stapleton said: “Both were true characters who added joy and laughter to the lives of all their loyal customers who hailed from all walks of life.”

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Kind and generous to a fault to everyone she met - including this reporter - it was always a case of family first for Brigid, who alongside Pat made sure her daughters - Nicola and Natalie - were well looked after.

“They did everything they could to make sure both their girls were well-educated and well taken care of. The whole way through our school, the whole way through our university and the whole way through our careers,” Nicola said.

“She was so proud when both her daughters became doctors. I am a GP, my sister is a doctor of engineering. She was delighted she managed to achieve that with her two girls,” Nicola added.

Another highlight of her life was when her two grandchildren arrived.

“Christopher and Michael are the apple of her eye,” she noted.

A big part of both Pat and Brigid’s life were their animals - and they had plenty of them!

Brigid’s most recent dog Buzz spent the last three years of her life with her.

It was a previous pooch the pair had - Lizzie - who Nicola recalls inadvertently helped save Pat’s car from being stolen when he was incapacitated after his stroke and unable to properly respond.

After the passing of Pat Stapleton - affectionately known as The Best Barber in the World - back in 2019, Brigid found a renewed strength and took up artwork, discovering a hidden talent at 69 years of age.

“It was a testament to her that she’d lost her life partner that she’d been with all these decades, but she still had the strength to go and do new things, and re-engage with life,” said Nicola.

Brigid Stapleton originally of Ballysimon, latterly of Raheen where her and Pat set up home, died in Milford Hospice last month.

She is loved and missed by her daughters, grandchildren and a wider network of friends and family. May she rest in peace.