From the
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Beth Robson, 8 June 2021.
Family pays tribute to pub landlady Margaret Moran of The Forester, Deal, who
died on Friday.
The death of Deal's longest serving landlady has prompted an
outpouring of grief from her family and many customers who became her
friends.
Margaret Moran, 79, was landlady of the Forester in The Marina for in
excess of 40 years.
Margaret Moran, the late Landlady of The Forester with a vodka and soda.
Picture Geeta Seegobin.
She was described by her family as a "real life Peter Pan" with a sharp
wit and prone to "sporadic outbursts of dance".
Born in December 1942 in Glinsk, Galway, Ireland, she worked at the
Odeon Hotel where she saved up enough money to travel to London by boat,
a journey she took in 1966.
Her first job was at the Cumberland Hotel in London. She also worked at
Buckingham Palace as a waitress at the Queen's garden parties.
Margaret Moran on her wedding day.
From there she had a series of pubs which she ran with husband Patrick
who she married in 1968.
The couple's pubs included The Prince of Wales in Balham and the "Coach
and Horses" in Blackheath.
Together they had daughter Jacqueline, who was born in the capital
in 1969.
Patrick died in 1974 aged 27. Four years later in 1978 Mrs Moran moved to
The Forester at Deal.
Margaret Moran with her pool team at the Forester in Deal. Picture Geeta
Seegobin.
Grandson Patrick Townsend said: "She got to the point where she wanted
to buy her own pub and Deal was somewhere she thought would be a good
place for that."
She made it her own and lived above the pub overlooking the sea.
Despite changes in the pub trade, with boozers being turned into trendy
bars, Mrs Moran kept the establishment as a traditional pub. This added
to the attraction for her many customers.
Margaret 'Mags' Moran. Picture Luke Smith.
The Forester was always immaculate and her beer garden was pristinely
kept, the lawn was adorned with colourful borders and rose bushes. In
the summer, roses cut from her garden were often seen in a vase or glass
on the bar, a sign of her pride in the place.
But aside from providing a warm and welcoming establishment, it was Mrs
Moran's kind and quirky personality that turned a customer into a
regular and a regular into a friend - of which she had a great many
across the town and beyond.
She was known affectionately as 'Mags' by some of her friends.
Margaret was true to her Irish roots. Picture Ginny Potter.
Mrs Moran would regularly be seen perched on a chair behind the bar
sipping vodka and soda or prosecco from a test tube shaped glass. With a
traditional Irish welcome she would pour the perfect Guinness complete
with shamrock on the top.
Mrs Moran died at the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital on Friday.
Margaret Moran and her family.
She became unwell on Thursday and suffered what was described as heart
attack symptoms in the morning before being taken into the Queen
Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital.
Mr Townsend added: "By chance, Raj, a regular at the pub, happened to be
the paramedic who was on call.
"He and a team of them did a fantastic job to get her out and give us
the opportunity to be able to say goodbye to her properly.
"As a family we want to say a huge thanks to them and Geeta who found
her at the pub and called the emergency services."
At the hospital Mrs Moran held on until her family arrived and she
passed away with her daughter and son in law beside her.
In a joint statement, her family said: "Margaret was a real life Peter
Pan, always reminding us to 'Never grow up, because grown-ups are
boring'.
"She has filled so many people with joy over her long and fulfilling
life and will always be remembered for her sharp wit, huge heart and
sporadic outburst of dance when she was excited."
She leaves a daughter Jacqueline, son in law Colin, grandson Patrick and
two grandaughters Shannon and Erin and many friends. |