Mairín is in good spirits and full of chat on 109th birthday

A SPECIAL Mass this week for a special woman celebrating her 109th birthday.

Máirín Hughes was surrounded by close friends and residents at Maryfield Nursing Home in Chapelizod and was in her usual good spirits and full of chat.

Ireland’s oldest resident, Máirín enjoyed a mimosa with her fellow residents before Mass in the peaceful surroundings of Maryfield, which overlooks the river Liffey Weir and the Phoenix Park.

She has previously met President Michael D Higgins and his wife to mark her birthday, but Máirín was happy to celebrate closer to home this time around.

“I don’t feel the need to go to the Áras. I’ve been there so many times, even before the commemorations,” Máirín told The Echo with a smile.

During conversation, Máirín recalled a time when she was married and living in Palmerstown with her late husband Francis Hughes.

“I was walking by this place when it was being built with my mother, and she would say that’s where they will put all the oul ones.”

Mass was celebrated by Máirín’s good friend Fr Liam McCarthy OFM and Fr Niall Thornton, who is also a resident at Maryfield.

Fr Liam said it was a “wonderful occasion” to celebrate Máirín’s 109th birthday and noted that she has lived through a time of ten Pope’s from St Pius X to the current Pope Francis.

He noted “two precious gifts Máirín achieved – “the gift of life” and the “gift of Christian faith.”

Mass was celebrated in Maryfield’s own chapel, where residents like Máirín, can attend daily services.

Mairin with Sr Hannah

Approximately half of the residents are nuns, Maryfield is a congregation of religious sisters founded by Frances Taylor.

Another resident celebrating their birthday this week is Sr Hannah.

Turning 88 and also in sparkling form, Sr Hannah said “the secret is to keep going and doing things.”

At the Mass, Fr Liam said the readings had been especially chosen by Máirín, and he hoped that she would continue to be who she is, “a person of faith, true, patient, kind.”

Fr Liam finished the Mass by singing a soothing rendition of Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World.’

Máirín and the residents later enjoyed a trip on the Vintage Tea Trip bus, taking in the sights of Phoenix Park along the way.

Born in 1914, and a trailblazer for women in the workplace between the 1930s and 1960s, Máirín did a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, and worked in the pathology lab in UCC’s Department of Medicine for 14 years.

An avid fan of classical music, walking, and literature, Máirín enjoyed a drop of her favourite sherry later on with her good friend Fr Liam.