‘Wonderful occasion’ celebrating Máirín’s 109th birthday today
A SPECIAL mass was held this morning for a special woman celebrating her 109th birthday.
Máirín Hughes was surrounded by family and close friends at Maryfield Nursing Home in Chapelizod and was in her usual good spirits and full of chat.
One of Ireland’s oldest residents, Máirín enjoyed a mimosa with her fellow residents before Mass in the peaceful surroundings of Maryfield, which overlooks the Weir river 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.
Máirín talking with Fr Liam McCarthy, OFM, before Mass this morning at Maryfield Nursing Home
“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.
Mass was celebrated by Máirín’s good friend Fr Liam McCarthy OFM and Fr Niall Thornton.
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.
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.
The full story will appear in The Echo this week.