Page 12 - O Mahony Society Newsletter NOV 2025_Neat

MEMBER NEWS AND MILESTONES

NAPA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA USA has been buzzing with O Mahony
visitors this year!
Ever gracious, longtime OMS members Kathy and Francis Mahoney, who some
will remember hosted a Saturday picnic at their Napa winery during a 1998
California-based Get-Together, opened their doors to visiting Mahoneys several
times in the latter part of this year.
Many will know that Francis is a first-generation American, born and raised
in San Francisco to Florence O Mahony from Skibbereen and his mother from
Rylane, north of Macroom.
Even though Francis and Kathy have stepped back from running a full winery
to “only” having a significant amount of acreage devoted to grape production
(their fruit goes to some very well-known California wineries), with a little
advance notice, they were extremely welcoming.
Virginia-based OMS members Amber and Jeremy Baker (along with Amber’s cousins Heather
and Sean) visited Kathy in early August. Although Francis was in Montana supporting their
grandchildren’s hockey passion when the group visited, Amber reported that Kathy could not have
been kinder or more welcoming. There was great pride in the photo-
op by the vineyard sign.
Massachusetts-based OMS member Tom Mahoney also visited
Mahoney Vineyards. Per both Tom and Francis, they exchanged a lot of
Mahoney family history. Tom’s photo with the sun-exposure-cautious
Francis is priceless and captures them both beautifully. What joy can be had in meeting fellow Mahoneys!
After years (if not a decade) of electronic communication, North Carolina-based OMS Council member Linda
McConnell Baker and her husband Larry, our OMS webmaster, were certain to include a stop with Francis
and Kathy on the Baker’s 2-month long, 8,000-mile cross-country trip, dragging their small but mighty
travel trailer.

That stop, where we learned it was Francis’ birthday and we celebrated with one of Kathy’s gardens’ watermelons and some freshly baked
cookies, was a highlight of the elder Baker’s trip.

Francis was kind enough to give us the friends and family
tour of their business property buildings, pointing out a
magnificent rendering where the winery’s tasting room
(and site of the 1998 picnic) had been, how they luckily
escaped nearby wildfire damage a year or two before
the Pandemic, and some of the Mahoney wine accolades.

Did you know that Francis and Kathy were part of a
cover photo for the magazine Wine Enthusiast? Or that
Mahoney wines were served at a White House state
dinner when the Clintons hosted Mary McAleese, the
President of Ireland? There is a great handwritten note
from Hillary Clinton thanking Francis and Kathy for their
part in making that evening a success. Talk about
O Mahonys on the Go, even if several years later.

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