Funeral of Ireland’s oldest person Máirín Hughes 

The funeral of Ireland’s oldest person Maírín Hughes, who died aged 109, took place last Saturday (9th) at Maryfield Chapel, Chapelizod. 

Maírín passed away peacefully in Maryfield Nursing Home in Chapleizod after a short illness on Tuesday, September 5.

Uilleann Piper Eamonn Walsh from St Maelruans Park Tallaght played at Maírín’s Cremation service in Glasnevin following her funeral Mass.

Among the many pieces Eamonn (pictured above) played were Gabriel’s Oboe by Ennio Morricone, Raglan Road, The Brendan Voyage by Liam O’Flynn, Town I loved so well, You raise me Up and Amazing Grace.

Born two months before war broke out in 1914, Máirin Hughes remembered the Black and Tans in Killarney.

Her long life began on May 22nd, 1914, just two months before the beginning of the first World War.

Celebrating her 109th birthday she said “the secret to a long life was to “live life to the full” and “not to waste any time”.

Born in Belfast, Máirín spent her early years in Dublin where her father worked as a customs officer.

Her parents met in London some years before and were both members of the Gaelic League.

Máirín’s vivid memory allowed her to recall the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918, the Black and Tans patrolling her area in Killarney in 1921, and the Free State soldiers arriving in 1922.

She also recalls attending the Eucharistic Congress in 1932 with her family.

More than a decade later, in 1935, she had graduated with a science degree from University College Cork and went on to work in the University’s laboratory where she played a role in perfecting the production of synthesised Vitamin C, newly discovered at the time.

Her work in the 1930s and ’40s also included testing blood samples sent by doctors from Cork city and county.

“I sat into that job beautifully,” she said.

Máirín worked as a chemist until she married her husband Frank in 1950.

The couple then went to Dublin, where she became a teacher.

Máirín Hughes celebrated her 109 birthday at Maryfield Nursing Home in Chapelizod, with a trip on the Vintage Tea Trips bus along with fellow residents.

A celebration was held for Máirín Hughes on her 109th birthday earlier this year.

In interviews, Máirín said she kept her mind sharp by reading, playing Scrabble and doing crosswords.

Her reminiscences of her childhood in Killarney, her friendship with Peig Sayers, her love of Irish and her work as a scientist offer an unrivalled insight into the history of Ireland.

As a very young child in Killarney, she remembers her mother parcelling up food to give to those affected by the highly infectious flu epidemic.

Those delivering the parcels were told to knock on the door and then run like the blazes to avoid getting infected.