Sarah Coyle died on July 14.RIP.ie
A woman who is believed to have been Ireland’s oldest person has died aged 108, her family has confirmed.
Sarah Coyle died peacefully, surrounded by her family, at her home in Dublin on Monday, July 14, just ten days before her 109th birthday.
Sarah (Byrne) was born on July 24th 1916, at Knockatomcoyle in County Wicklow, where she was one of ten children, but she moved to Dublin at the age of 17 to work as a carer for an elderly lady in Foxrock, before moving to Drumcondra after she married Tom Coyle in 1950.
Speaking to RTE’s Morning Ireland Radio programme, her grandson Thomas Galligan said his grandmother had a great attitude to life, and even though she lost her eyesight in an accident in 1957, she had a ‘get on with it’ way about her, which saw her adapt to life without her sight.
Thomas Galligan said his grandmother had two young children to care for at the time of the accident, and though she was blind as a result of a head injury, she had a very positive mindset and just got on with it.
He also said his grandmother’s advice to anyone hoping to live a long life, was not to hold grudges and drink lots of tea.
Sarah Coyle often spoke of her life and her memories of seeing the ‘Black and Tans‘ on the streets and remembers their very distinctive uniforms, and she also had clear memories of The Emergency (WWII) as it was called at the time, and the rationing of food that came with it.
Sarah Coyle had a total of eight presidential medals, an honour received each year by people who reach the age of 100 and over.
Sarah has one living sibling, a sister, Lily, who is 103 and lives in Birmingham.
She is remembered fondly by her two children, five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.