The final goodbyes and services for local personality and Leith legend Mary Moriarty were held in her beloved Edinburgh neighbourhood on Tuesday morning.
The South Leith Parish Church was packed wall to wall with mourners. So many came to pay tribute to the indomitable Mary that there were not enough service programs to go around.
“We will remember you,” Rev Iain May opened.
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“How could we not? Mary has brought us all together today. What binds us together is the role Mary played in each of our lives.”
Mary was a well-loved local woman who was the former landlady of the Port O’Leith pub on Constitution Street. She was also a loving mother, a warm friend, a fierce advocate for Leith, and an adventurous spirit.
During the first eulogy, her son Niall spoke about the ‘facts of Mary’s life:’
She was born in Central Scotland; she lived in Paris when she was young; she worked as an Au Pair for an American Ambassador in Algeria during the Algerian war for independence; she also lived in the USA for a few years with her twin sister.
Later on, she returned to Scotland and moved to Edinburgh. In 1985, Mary and her husband took over as the manager of the Port O’Leith bar.
She was born on 11 October 1938, and she died in her home of terminal cancer on 3 October 2022. She was just shy of her 84th birthday.
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“These are the facts of her life. However, I’d rather talk about what gave her meaning and purpose,” her son, Niall said.
“She believed in learning to stick for yourself and then [standing up for] others. I think she came to embody the Leith motto of perseverance.”
All who spoke about her said Mary had a magnetic force about her and always drew people towards her with a kind word. However, despite Mary’s warmth and kindness, she was a fierce woman with an independent mind. Her son said she never took the easy path in life, and faced every obstacle head on.
“It’s very very hard. We’re here to say goodbye and it’s the finality of the day. As you sail away, you do so on an ocean of love. You created a lot of love in this world,” her son, Niall eulogised.
“To badly misquote Shakespeare, she made death proud to take her.”
Although many remembered Mary’s more spirited moments of dancing on the bar at the Port O’Leith and inviting strangers to sing karaoke in front of a Lidl on the street, Niall said she had a rich interior life and a deep appreciation for art and culture.
She loved classical music, bridge, theatre and the arts. In 2019, the Leith Theatre unveiled a portrait of “the Queen of Leith herself,” and the piece has been permanently housed in the theatre since.
In addition to her role as the infamous Port O’Leith landlady, Mary was also passionate about the Leith Festival and the local gala day on Leith Links.
Her friend Sandy Cambell called her a “hostess extraordinaire” and an “activist for all things Leith.”
To Mary, Sandy said Leith was more than just a postal address. She was on the frontlines to fight the council when they wanted to change the name of Leith harbour and she was also passionate about the Leith Festival and the local gala day on Leith Links.
“Mary was a one woman welcome to Leith,” he said.
“She was our Joan of Arc.. The champion of all things Leith. The stories [of Mary Moriarty] will be passed through the generations for years to come.”
Mary’s service opened with the hymn ‘All things bright and beautiful’ and closed with an old seafarer's hymn ‘Eternal Father, strong to save.’
At the end of her service, a collection was taken in benefit of Edinburgh’s St Columba's Hospice Care.
Her service at South Links Parish Church was held on Tuesday at Noon, and mourners followed her to the Seafield Crematorium. All were welcome at The Dockers Club afterward to share stories of Leith’s Queen.
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