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IRELAND’S OLDEST PERSON, Mairin Hughes, still knows how to enjoy life.
The “inspirational” 109-year-old still does the crossword regularly, loves birdwatching and “does everything you’re supposed to do to keep well”.
Today, Mairin Hughes, who was born in Belfast and spent part of her long life in Kerry, Cork and Dublin, celebrated her birthday with her community at Maryfield Nursing Home in Chapelizod, Dublin.
As she arrived in the lobby of the nursing home, sporting a navy blazer and pink scarf, she expressed surprise at her fellow residents and a family member waiting for her with balloons and a big cake.
She was presented with medals for each year she has lived as a centenarian, and read out a quote to the room that accompanied her latest medal, which she remarked was very true.
“You have lived through remarkable times in the history of Ireland and the world. You have witnessed remarkable changes, unimaginable at the time of your birth in 1914.
“Sin a bhfuil,” she added afterwards, Irish for that is all.
After her favourite song, Oro Se do Bheatha Bhaile, was played, which she sang along to enthusiastically, she and her friends boarded the vintage tea bus that awaited them outside.
She said her advice to people is to live life to the full and that not wasting time is important.
She told the PA news agency she does enjoy her birthdays. “It’s nice to get cards and that sort of thing, it’s nice to know that people remember you.”
When asked if life gets better as you get older, she said “you learn a certain amount and you do advance that way, and you learn to cope with situations”.
She added: “I’m a cosmopolitan, because I was born in Belfast, and then dad was transferred to Dublin, and we were in Dublin for a couple of years, and then transferred to Killarney, and he retired while we were in Killarney so we still stayed there.
“When I married I moved to Cork.”
She said life at Maryfield was the next step in her remarkable journey.
When asked if she likes city life, she said: “I like the country, I want to see greenery. I like the quietness and the birds, which we have here. They’re gorgeous around the river.”
Asked for her advice on a happy life, she said it is all about your attitude.
Orla Quigg, director of nursing at Maryfield, told PA that she is a smart woman who loves doing puzzles daily.
“Mairin is a super lady. She really is inspirational to all of us here,” she said.
“She’s lived on the grounds of Maryfield for over 30 years. She lived in apartments at the front and then she moved into the nursing home when it was rebuilt.
“She plays Scrabble every day, she does a crossword every day, she does everything you’re supposed to do to keep well.
“She loves history and she’s part of history. She’s very witty, she’s so smart.”
She added: “She doesn’t like the fuss, she doesn’t see why she should be made a fuss of. She just does what she does, and she feels if you get up every morning, sure that’s enough.”
After Mairin Hughes and her friends take their seats aboard the bus, they were heard singing “Alive alive oh!” from the song Molly Malone before the vintage tea bus drove off down the road.
What about working individual and family? Where is there increase, you know, the very people of working age who go out and keep the country financed.
@Tipper Irie: Tax cuts have been mentioned.
@Tipper Irie: Be prepared to keep being a tax payer, I’m 70 on a state pension and have to work to top it up
@Colm Kane: always mentioned, but usually smoke, mirrors and clever maths result in a different outcome.
@Tipper Irie: Don’t forget that most pensioners worked and paid taxes all their lives and still do. Of course the current working people and families deserve to be locked after.
The Government trying to scrape back votes before the next GE by the looks of it.
You’d swear there is an election on the horizon
@Brian Madden: I’d say you’re right. Probably that’s why Joan Collins (right 2change) raised the issue in the Dáil today and pressed Varadkar about it….
Ahh Leo….more money for the wealthiest demographic in the country
Try theses (Bertie) manoeuvres all you want but your heading for oblivion
@David Cotter: Those on a state pension are not wealthy.
Proportional increases to the state pension are scandalous. How can it be right to increase the top rate by €12 but pensioners on a lower amount receive as little as €9 or less. If the pension is increased by a euro amount, then all pensioners should receive it.
@Deirdre Fitzpatrick: Yes the Bonkers Pension Systems Victims throw under the bus as usual
Leo the liar strikes again.
Trying to buy votes, too little to late. Bye bye
Open comments on the roscommon case, are ye afraid of something.
Please no more. The increase will not come into effect for 8 months.
So we will have endless bollix talk of will it be 5 or the cost of living multiplied by r squared and age action saying it should be a trillion billion and when we are all worn out it will turn out to be less than the price of a pint in Temple Bar.
Please sir, may I have some more?
MORE?
How is this news? The pension has increased virtually every budget since the foundation of the State.
More wobble talk for Leo. Of course there will be an increase, the cost of living has gone through the roof. But this fella wants you to think it was his idea. Spoofer
Could we just get back the levy they took off our pension!!?
FO Leo!
Vote buying begins, with your money and you’ll be paying for it forever!
Leo is not loyal to the Irish people or the Irish republic.
Won’t vote for you even though!
I love Leo. Please have my babies Leo.
Will it be too late to save them?
Hopefully not..
Election next year and a raft of retirements from the front benches this year
For those who’s comments are being deleted by the shadow banners and thejournal.ie
Stop replying to people directly…start new threads when you reply…this means the shadow banners have more work to delete comments individually instead of an entire thread…make as much work as possible for them so they can’t cover all posts…
Copy your post and when they delete it repost it…if and when they get you banned set up another account…
Make it impossible to cover all comments that many will end up staying up…they will also have to search for your comments to mass false report them….
Also if thejournal.ie is blocking certain reposts just change a few letters one in a few words here and their with the letter x…or anything just once theirs some minor changes it will repost…and always when reposting make these minor changes each repost….I think theirs an algorithm that gets alerted to the post deleted and the eventually bans the user….so slightly modify each repost….
Delete your cookies to reduce targeted mass false deleting and thejournal.ie algorithm associating your account to those deletes….which helps insidious and maliciously delete comments…
The establishment loyalist fascist shadow banners and thejournal.ie are in full steam ahead insidious and malicious deleting of comments that dont tow the line and follow the establishment narrative…
Their you have folks….I’ve just proved that theirs a insidious and malicious subset of users on here mass false reporting other users to in order to suppress others and censor you…because they’ve decided their judge, jurry and executioner of what people can and cannot say….their long time users many of them in this insidious and malicious group…they always comment with glee that people’s comments won’t last and when a comment is deleted the comment with such glee again….
Thejournal.ie needs to permanently ban these people….Thejournal.ie knows who they are and how the harresed many on here deleting their comments and getting people banned…
I personally have had multiple different attacks on me by these people in their campaign of harresment…I’ve had veiled threats made against…I’ve had my IP attacked….I’ve must have had 3/4 of my comments deleted…I’ve been banned nearly 80 times because of them…they’ve insulted me from the very moment I expressed an opinion they despised and then treated me with derision…
These are sick people that thejournal.ie needs to deal with…
This comment section should be a place of free and open discussion once the comments fall with in the guidelines….
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