The late Priscilla Walsh Noble pictured with her son Peter
It was with great sadness that staff and former employees of The Munster Express learned of the untimely death of Priscilla Walsh Noble.
Youngest daughter of the late JJ and Josephine Walsh, she was steeped in the newspaper business and, even as a girl attending St Angela’s Ursuline Secondary School, Priscilla was a familiar figure in the newspaper’s offices where most days she worked after school and during holidays.
Having completed her education at Trinity College Dublin, she joined the editorial staff of The Munster Express on a permanent basis.
By the time she moved to London after her marriage, Priscilla had blazed a trail for women journalists in regional newspapers.
Under the tutelage of her father, the late JJ Walsh, who was editor and chairman of the company, Priscilla became one of the first, if not the first, woman news editor in the country.
Well liked by staff whose respect and affection she enjoyed, she was very efficient and hard working. She had a warm personality and a wicked sense of humour that occasionally manifested itself in the pages of the newspaper.
A skilled writer herself, she had a keen eye for a good story and was a stickler for correct grammar and spelling.
While in London, she remained a director of the company and continued to contribute articles of interest. On her visits home she always sought out every staff member for a chat and catch-up and made a point of getting to know new employees.
Excelling at public speaking and debating, she was a talented athlete who played tennis for Munster at schools level. Priscilla was also an enthusiastic supporter of all Waterford sports. Her father was a director of Waterford FC during the glory years of the 1960s and early 1970s and from an early age she became a lifelong supporter of the Blues.
JJ Walsh had the distinction of attending every Summer Olympic Games from 1936 in Berlin onwards and was only weeks away from attending Barcelona in 1992 when his final illness prevented him from making the journey.
Priscilla attended the Olympics with her father from the 1970s on, including quite a few of the Winter Olympics, Soccer World Cups and European Championships as well. It was her job to file reports from the Olympic press villages to The Munster Express.
Those were the days of poor international telephone connections and long before email and text but, whatever the difficulty, in time honoured tradition she always got her copy in on time.
Priscilla loved Tramore and Waterford and was very proud of her native place. She was also very knowledgeable about the city and county’s history and for many years was a committee member of the Waterford Literary and Historical Society.