Still enjoying her birthday at 105 years

OVER the years, she has seen revolutions, wars, recessions and resurgences today, Gort woman Mary Quinn prefers to live in the present, spending time with her family and friends.

On Saturday, Mary entered her 106th year and celebrated with a birthday party on Sunday.
“She enjoyed it very much,” confirmed a family member. “She enjoyed the party 100%. She loves birthday parties.”
Mary is originally from Killeen in Gort but for the past seven years has been a resident of the Rosemount Nursing Home. Her family and friends joined her in celebration on Sunday after Mass at 2.30pm.
Mary was born Mary Dolan on July 24, 1905. Her mother was from Tulla and her father from Killeen. She was one of eight children. She had six brothers, Patrick, William, John, Christy, her twin, Michael, all deceased, and James. She also had one sister, Roseanne, also deceased.
Mary married John Quinn of Ballybane, Gort in 1932. They had seven children, Martin, John, Patrick, James, Maura, Rose and Josephine, before she was widowed in 1971.
Among the crowd at Mary’s party was one of her regular visitors, her 103-year-old brother, James Dolan, from Lakefield, Lough Cultra, along with his wife and family. As well as Mae’s children, 24 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, a number of her nephews, nieces, neighbours and friends all shared in the celebrations.
According to her family, Mae’s age is not that remarkable given that members of her mother’s family reached the same age “when no-one was really living to 105”.
Numerous relatives assemble each year, from all over Ireland and from the USA, for Mae’s birthday.
As with many people of her generation, Mary recalls the days of the Black and Tans, World War I, the War of Independence, the Civil War and the World War II, as well as many great sporting events. She also remembers when Lady Gregory and some of the great Irish writers stayed at nearby Coole Park.
Although she never lived there herself, Mary clearly remembers the Wall Street crash and subsequent depression in the USA, which affected some members of her family.
“She is a great inspiration and a real historian. There is a video of her. It was filmed some years ago now documenting her memories,” said one partygoer.
Today, Mary enjoys receiving visits from family and friends and still loves to watch television.