Maureen’s pretty nifty at ninety

THERE was great fun and plenty of well wishes handed out at Odin’s Wood Day Care Centre in Finglas last week during a special birthday party for 90-year-old volunteer, Maureen McCormick.

The sprightly pensioner is loved by all at the centre where she’s volunteered for the past 14 years, devoting her time to help raise the spirits of clients much younger than herself.

Staff from the centre, clients, their family members and friends were determined to give Maureen a party to remember last week as a mark of gratitude for her work and the positive energy she spreads around the community.

And she loved every minute of it.

“It was great, I really enjoyed it,

? she said.

“I love Odin’s Wood and I would do anything for them.

“I think I’m 14 years up there this year. We play bingo and we have our social on the first Tuesday of every month and I’m the MC. I get them up to sing, or tell an auld joke or have a bit of craic. Sometimes we just chat and talk and reminisce.

“I do often say that the way I go on here, dressing up for parties and when we’d be having a bit of fun, that If people saw me now they’d have me committed, they’d think there was something wrong with me!

“I can’t believe I’m the age that I am. Somebody asked me the other night if I was retiring now but I’ve never even thought of it. I certainly hope not.

“I’m fairly healthy at the minute. I only go to the doctor every three months and she said I’m all right. She says I’m like a car where the parts wear down but they can’t be replaced.

“You have to keep active. It’s no use sitting at home looking out the window because you’ll only stagnate.

?

Maureen is a true Northsider, having grown up in a house on Constitution Hill before moving to Finglas in the

’50s. She started work as an accountant’s clerk in town before getting a job as a cleaner in Finglas Children’s Centre, also known as St Laurence’s.

She was later promoted to House Mother, spending her time looking after the day-to-day needs of the school’s young boys who came from troubled backgrounds.

“I really enjoyed it because those boys really were my family as I had no family of my own,

? she recalls.

“They were good kids. If I’d go to town, I’d often meet some of them and we’d have a chat. Some of them used to even say

‘I wish you were me ma’.

?

Maureen is now

‘mammy’ to the clients at Odin’s Wood and manager Paula Bermingham speaks for everybody at the centre when she describes her as

“marvellous

?.

“Maureen is a truly remarkable lady who has been helping out with the clients since the centre opened,

? Paula says.

“She has a great outlook on life and always arrives with a smile and is willing to help. She cheers everyone up with her singing and dancing and her positive outlook on life.

“Maureen is a wonderful example of what ‘Positive Ageing’ is all about and the contribution older people can make to society as a whole and in particular to their own local community. She is truly one in a million.

?

Last week’s celebrations for Maureen’s birthday didn’t end at Odin’s Wood. In addition to the party at the centre, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, hosted a special event at the Mansion House.

Maureen was brought to the Mayor’s residence in a Mercedes and she celebrated the occasion surrounded by family and friends, entertaining them with song and verse before dancing the night away.

?¢ Age Action Ireland’s ‘Positive Ageing Week’ takes place this week from October 1-9. The festival highlights the positive aspects of ageing and celebrates the contribution older people like Maureen have made and continue to make to their communities.