Tributes paid to former Penfolds Wine Bar worker Irene Finneran

From turning the old Summer Street Penfolds Wine Bar into a scene straight out of 'Cheers', to dinners out on the town with a group of friends, you always wanted to be by her side.

Ms Finneran died on Friday, May 19 at the age of 81 following a long illness.

Colleen Henry was one of two sisters Ms Finneran had and described as "an entertainer".

"If we saw a film and there was a musical then she would sing it when we got home. She would take both parts - male and female - of course," Mrs Henry said.

"She also learned to play the drums. Why she chose the drums we'll never know, but she had lots of rhythm and she could sing all the lines at the same time."

Ms Finneran's family grew up around the Penfolds Wine Bar, with her parents running the show for quite a while.

Once they retired, it was Ms Finneran who took over and made it the place to be.

"The wine bar suited her to no end because it wasn't so different to how the pubs were," Mrs Henry said.

"There were regulars and they had nicknames and it was a bit of a community."

After her time at the wine bar, she moved on to a publicity job with Myer where she became "quite well-known" at the Central Western Daily.

Later on, Ms Finneran would take up a role as careers advisor and PR at Orange Ag College. This allowed her the opportunity to organise many a successful open day.

With a millions stories to choose from, there was one in particular that Mrs Henry believed summed up her sister to a tee.

"Irene and three of her friends were at the Red Lantern restaurant one night. Irene would just break out into song and she'd get the whole restaurant singing along with her," Mrs Henry said.

"It was just a joy to be around her. She was doing it to entertain you, not to impress anybody else.

"She wasn't making it about 'look at me', but of course everyone was because her table was always having the most fun."

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