Eileen Tully

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our mother, Eileen Tully (née Buckley), on April 27th, 2025, at the age of 83, in Valley Stream, New York.

Eileen was born on January 27th, 1942, in County Cork, Ireland, one of thirteen children to Ellen Buckley (née Fenton) and Eugene Buckley. She grew up in a small house on Farranferris Avenue, where the walls held echoes of joy and struggle and the bustling energy of a large family. As a child, she ran like lightning through the fields, picked berries in the Irish rain, and helped her mother raise the little ones—her hands always reaching to help and to do.

At the age of 19, Eileen left Spangle Hill in Cork City behind and immigrated to New York in search of new beginnings. It was there she met the true love of her life, the late James Tully. Together they built a home full of love, Irish wit, and music, raising five children—Brian (Amy), Colleen (Tom), Ellen (William), Suzanne (Anthony), and Jennifer (Antonio).

Eileen was a devoted and fiercely loving mother and grandmother. She was wise and warm, with a sharp tongue and a heart even bigger than her voice. She was a talker—a force of nature who filled every room with stories, opinions, advice, and laughter. Quiet was never her way; she had something to say, and she said it—boldly, lovingly, and often hilariously. Her grandchildren—Sean, Kevin, Liam, Hudson, Faye, Rowan, and Ellis—were her pride and joy. Around them, she sparkled, her arms always open, her stories always ready.

She cultivated friendships that were more like chosen family, grounded in humor and endless conversation. Among her many passions were interior design, fashion, flowers, and the joyful hunt for the perfect bakery. She had a keen eye for beauty and detail—Nordstrom, surely, should have a plaque in her name.

In her later years, Eileen's personality only deepened—opinionated, animated, and unapologetically herself. She spent the last ten years of her life volunteering at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. She was a woman of grit and grace, of resilience and riotous humor, who made even the simplest moment feel charged with life. She told stories that left you in stitches, gave advice you never forgot, and had a gift for turning chaos into connection.

We are heartbroken to say goodbye. Our mother lived with such vitality and volume that part of us believed she might just outlast us all. The world feels quieter now—too quiet, really—but etched in memory, her voice returns like a gentle refrain. Her legacy lives on in the people she loved and shaped, in the many stories we’ll keep telling, and in the small, beautiful things she taught us to notice and celebrate.

She is survived by her five children, seven beloved grandchildren, and her siblings Martha, Pauline, Kay, and Kevin, as well as her sister-in-law Kay O’Brien. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews in both England and the U.S. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, James, and several cherished siblings: Hughie, Jimmy, Lila, John, Mary, Della, Theresa, and Joy.

Livestream Mass - Monday 5/5/25 at 11:00 AM

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