Margaret Connaghan (née Dwyer) of New York, NY died on August 16, 2023, after a long life full of love from her large family and extensive circle of friends.

Margaret was born in New York, NY on March 3, 1931, the daughter of Thomas Dwyer of County Carlo and Margaret Wynne of County Leitram. She grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, having made her first communion at St. Ignatius Loyola. Shortly thereafter her family moved to the Bronx, her home for the next 80 years. She graduated from Thorpe Secretarial School in 1949. She proudly worked in the Bronx District Attorney’s office for over 30 years, retiring at the age of 72. She was also an active member of her prayer group at St. Paul the Apostle in Yonkers and at the Cardinal Spellman Retreat House senior center, as well as a eucharistic minister at St. Margaret of Cortona.

Above all else, Margaret loved her family. She married James Connaghan on Sept. 15, 1951, at Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in the Bronx. They had five children together – Peggy, Julie, Danny, Patty and Joanne. After Jimmy’s untimely death, Margaret took up the mantle, raising her children and becoming the matriarch of the family for the next 45 years.

With the birth of her grandchildren, Margaret became “Mon-Mon,” a name that has stuck with all who loved her. She was a devoted grandmother, known for making each of grandchildren feel like her absolute favorite. She was generous, kind, and a natural storyteller. She loved being in the middle of the action, whether it was playing on the beach, dancing at a wedding, or opening presents on holidays. She leaves behind a lifetime of memories, laughs, and a zest for life. 

Margaret is survived by her five children: daughter Margaret “Peggy” Connaghan and her husband Kenneth Dolan, daughter Julia Conroy and her husband Gerry, son Daniel Connaghan, daughter Patricia Mahon and her husband Patrick, and daughter Joanne Gariola and her husband Joseph, as well as nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband James.

The wake will be held at Riverdale-on-Hudson Funeral Home on Thursday August 24 from 4-7pm. The funeral mass will take place at St. Margaret of Cortona on Friday August 25 at 9:45am. The burial will follow at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY, notably 45 years to the day since her husband’s passing.