On her first birthday in 1925, Myrtle Allen’s parents gave her a present of a myrtle tree, which was planted in Tivoli, where she was born. Then it moved to their new house in Monkstown, overlooking Cork harbour, and later when she married her husband Ivan, that same tree moved to the grounds of Ballymaloe. Today that myrtle tree sits proudly in front of Ballymaloe House, greeting each visitor that arrives, overseeing the workings of the busy country house, at one in nature just as Myrtle Allen was in life. It will forever be a poignant reminder of the lady of the house. Over the past week since Myrtle’s passing, there have been fine descriptions of a life well lived. She was a pioneer in Irish food, a chef ahead of her time, the matriarch of the Ballymaloe brand. However, at the service celebrating her life on Sunday, the story of her success came through in the lives she touched.