Antonia Edgeworth was described as a kind and thoughful person who was always up for a chat. Facebook
Antonia Edgeworth
Antonia Edgeworth was from Foxrock in south county Dublin.
TRIBUTES HAVE POURED out for former council worker Antonia Edgeworth, who was found dead after sleeping rough on Dublin’s Henry Street on Sunday morning.
Gardaí said a postmortem will be carried out.
Antonia was from Foxrock in south county Dublin. She had worked at a library in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and had a daughter before falling upon tough times and becoming homeless.
She had struggled with addiction issues. Despite this, she remained a sunny and thoughtful person, people said.
Antonia also had stints working in local pub The Magic Carpet and in SuperValu in Stillorgan, those who knew her shared in tributes posted online.
Dozens of people from south Dublin who were familiar with Antonia shared stories and condolences online, with many describing her as a person “with a heart of gold”.
One woman wrote that when she had her daughter, Antonia would call over to see her after school, or on her break. “Every time I’d see her all she could talk about was her own little girl who [sic] she loved so much.”
Another woman wrote that she had not seen Antonia in over 30 years, but remembered her well from the “Loreto days” – “she was always very sound and up for a laugh”.
“She was a great pal to me over the years, when my own dad passed away she sent a beautiful mass card – it was probably the last few bob in her pocket at the time,” another shared.
“I was so very grateful for it. That was her: she would give anyone anything before herself.”
Local councillor Hugh Lewis paid tribute to Antonia, whom he said he would have known professionally.
“I would see her and talk to her every time I seen [sic] her,” the Independent councillor told The Journal.
“She was a very warm person, the type of person that would make an effort to talk to you every time you’d bump into her. It’s just an awful situation.”
He said his impression of Antonia was a person who was “very selfless” and who viewed others’ issues as being as big a challenge as her own.
Lewis had paid tribute to the local woman at Monday evening’s council meeting. The councillor described her as “another victim of the housing crisis and demonstrates the vulnerability that our homeless and rough sleepers face each night”.
Many of those sleeping rough in tents and sleeping bags around Dublin, and indeed nationally, are incredibly vulnerable not only to dangers on the streets, but to the elements, which can exacerbate existing health issues.
Lewis said the fact that some people choose to sleep rough over staying in emergency accommodation shows shortcomings in the provision of this accommodation for people with no other option.
The Dublin Simon Community said of Antonia’s death: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the woman who died in Dublin city centre over the weekend.
“It is a tragedy when anyone dies on the street, and it underlines the vulnerability of people who find themselves without a roof over their head.
“This event highlights the urgency of needing better options to reduce homelessness and take pressure out of the system.”
Funeral details for Antonia are yet to be announced.