Brigid "Pauline" McNulty

Brigid "Pauline" McNulty

Lebanon, NH - Brigid "Pauline" McNulty (nee Sheerin), 91, of Lebanon NH, passed away peacefully on Dec. 03, 2025 listening to Irish music, surrounded by her children.

Pauline/Polly/Grandma was born June 29, 1934 in Foxford, County Mayo, Ireland. She grew up in Carrigart, County Donegal, Ireland, surrounded by farmland and the sea. She attended a one room schoolhouse and recalled fetching water from the spout down the road. She reluctantly left her family to attend boarding school at a convent because there was no high school near her town. It was an exciting day when she returned home and found it now had electricity! She attended the University of Galway, where she earned her Masters degree in English and Irish. She worked as a teacher of the Irish language, literature, and maths.

She met Brian McNulty shortly before he emigrated to America. He proposed by mail and returned to Ireland for the wedding. They emigrated to the United States on their honeymoon, living first in Endicott NY, then Brooklyn NY, Somerville NJ, and Worthington OH. After retiring in 1990, Pauline and Brian moved to Gold Beach, Oregon, her all time favorite place, where she lived within sight of the ocean and roamed isolated beaches with her beloved dogs.

One of the things that gave her great joy (and a big smile during her last days) was retelling the story of Mr. Dragon, a big old tree that had washed up on Gold Beach. Her grandchildren called him Mr. Dragon because his roots took the form of an other-worldly creature. Every winter, he would be moved by storm waves, and sand would cover and uncover him. To explain the movement, Pauline would tell the children about the magic of Mr. Dragon, and they were enthralled.

Pauline cultivated her talent for crafting with fabrics and yarns, creating intricate dolls, quilts and hundreds of socks - no two exactly the same because "only a boring woman knits the same sock twice." She roamed the forest, cut trails and gathered bruscar in her beloved redwood forest by the sea.

In 2005, Pauline and Brian moved to Lebanon, New Hampshire to be closer to their daughter Maureen and medical care. Pauline volunteered at the Grafton County Senior Center three to four days a week, serving lunch to "the old folks" until she was almost 90. During the pandemic, she packed boxes of food at the Listen food pantry. She taught English to immigrants.

In testament to her deep-seated family values and the love her family has for her, her 90th birthday celebration was attended by all of her children, all but one grandchild, and most of her great grandchildren.

Pauline was preceded in death by her husband Brian, her parents, Patrick and Anne Mary Sheerin, and her brother Brendan Sheerin and sister Maureen Mulligan. She is survived by her siblings Angela Kerrane of Manchester, England; Eugene Sheerin of Carrigart, Ireland; Geraldine Catterson of Strabane, N. Ireland; and Jerome Sheerin of Dundalk, Ireland; by her children Gene Collins (partner Niels Nielsen) of Cork, Ireland; Brendan McNulty (wife Laura) of Arcata, California; Oisin McNulty (wife Karen) of Moser, Oregon; Dervilla Ward (husband Ron) of Chicago, Illinois; and Maureen McNulty (husband Charles Freeman) of Lebanon NH; by her grandchildren Shane, Sarah, David, Rebekah, John, Daniel, Joshua, Erin, Eilish, Kieran, Brendan and Aine, and by seven great grandchildren.

A celebration of Pauline's life is being planned for June 2026. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Advanced Transit, who were instrumental in keeping Pauline independent for the last two decades of her life.