Evelyn was born in January, 1930 to Patrick McGovern and his wife Bridet. There is some uncertainty about the exact day of her birth: it was between the 11th and the 14th
Patrick was a farmer and the family lived on a farm in Gubaveeny, Co Cavan. This is about 10 km outside Blacklion, close to the Leitrim border.
Patrick and Bridget had six children: Patrick (Packie), Evelyn, John, Kathleen and Frank. They also had a son Michael who died when he was 10 years old
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Mum and Dad met when Mum was working in the Cliff Hotel in Howth. They married in January 1958. Dad would have been 30 and Mum had just turned 28
Their first child, Patricia, was born in June 1959.
Their second child, Louise, tragically died when she was just a few days old. As well as being very upset, Mum and Dad were very angry at the time because they felt that the maternity hospital did not take their concerns about the baby seriously enough. The remaining children were born in the Rotunda hospital
They moved to Dean Swift Road in Glasnevin in 1961 and lived there for the rest of their married lives
A son, Peter, arrived in April 1962 followed by Mary in April 1963, Carita in May 1965 and John in September 1971
Mum passed away suddenly on 1st November 1990, aged just 60. After the kids had gone off to work and school, Mum told Dad that she was going to go back to bed for a while, which was unusual. When he went back to check on her later, he found that she had passed away quietly. The cause of death was related to her heart