The life of a ‘well-known’ Irish traveller from Bermondsey is being celebrated with a huge procession from Dockhead to Forest Hill on Monday (March 23rd).
Bridget Joyce, who sadly passed from a short illness on March 8th aged 59, was the eldest daughter of the late Michael O’Brien – who was known locally as ‘The Old King’.
She had a big family and leaves behind her husband Davie, 6 children and 13 grandchildren, with another on the way.
The funeral will be held at 10am on Monday at the Most Holy Trinity Church in Dockhead, followed by a procession to Camberwell Old Cemetery in Forest Hill, where she will be laid to rest alongside her mother, father and brother.
“She was the backbone of the family,” said Bridget’s sister, Ann-Marie O’Brien. “The family is devastated and she will be a big loss.”
Bridget was one of 15 children herself and their father Michael passed away in 2022. He had a ‘royal-themed’ funeral through the streets of Bermondsey. Michael O’Brien has a total of 133 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Bridget’s own funeral will follow a similar theme, with hundereds of mourners expected, alongside horse-drawn carriages and six Rolls Royce to escort the ‘very large family’.
Bridget and Ann-Marie’s mother, Veronica, also made the News in 1997, when she passed away and had a funeral that stopped traffic.
Bridget was the reason the entire O’Brien family relocated to Elephant and Castle in the 1980s, following her from Ireland after she married David Joyce.
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For anyone wanting to pay their respects, the funeral starts at 10am at the Most Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Dockhead, SE1. It will end at Camberwell Old Cemetery, SE22.
