The family of a "kind and generous" great-grandmother who died from Covid-19 have told of how they have been left "devastated" by the loss.
Bridget Kerr, who was known as Bridie, passed away at Massereene Manor nursing home in Antrim a week after she tested positive for coronavirus.
Her heartbroken family last night appealed to people to follow government guidelines.
Originally from Baker Street in the Pound Loney area of the Falls Road in west Belfast, Bridie Kerr, a mother-of-four, moved to Andersonstown Park South before later moving to Crumlin.
Her husband, John passed away in 2011.
After becoming unwell in November, Bridie, who was 88, was temporarily moved into Massereene Manor.
When the home went into lockdown in March due to Covid-19, her family were able to maintain contact with her via video calls.
However, at the end of April, the pensioner became unwell and tested positive for coronavirus at the beginning of May.
As her condition deteriorated, her family were allowed to put on Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and visit their mother.
On Friday, the pensioner passed away with her daughter, Eilish and son, Sean by her bedside.
Speaking to the Irish News, Eilish Cummins said the family had been left "devastated" by the loss of their mother, who had once worked at the Lucozade factory on the Andersonstown Road in west Belfast.
Mrs Cummins said staff at Massereene Manor had been "excellent" adding that her mother had been made "comfortable" and had been in no pain.
"She just gradually declined and we were with her," she said.
"She passed very peacefully and quietly. Sean held one hand and I held the other".
Eilish said her mother, who was a Type 2 Diabetic, had "lived for her family".
"She was the youngest girl of four sisters," she said.
"They were very, very close and she is the last of the Maguire family, the rest are gone. She was a religious woman and she just lived for her family.
Unable to have a wake or a Requiem Mass for their mother, Eilish said her family had taken some comfort that a "beautiful" Mass had been dedicated at Holy Apostles Catholic Church in East Wenatchee in Washington by her cousin Fr Seamus Kerr.
However, Eilish said it had been surreal to lose her mother amid the current Covid-19 restrictions.
"I was devastated when my father passed away but we were very, very busy because people came to the house and we were handing out tea and coffee at a wake but we can't do anything. It is surreal," she said.
The Belfast woman also appealed to people to continue to follow the government's coronavirus guidelines and asked those flouting them to think again.
