Tag Archives: Ireland’s oldest person

Ireland’s oldest person has passed away in her 109th year. Nora Canavan, née Mullins, was born in Monreel, Ennistymon on March 9, 1908 but lived most of her live at St Catherine’s, Doolin. She became the oldest person in Ireland earlier this year following the death of 109-year-old Mayo woman Molly Madden. Nora has been described as a family woman who liked crochet and gardening. She also enjoyed traditional music, had a strong faith, and said that hard work was the secret of a long life. Her life was documented by Cuimhneamh an Chláir, the Clare oral history and folklore group. Pre-deceased by her husband Stephen, who she married in 1920, the couple had seven children. She is survived by a wide circle of friends and family, including great-great grandchildren. Her remains will repose at her residence in Doolin this Thursday evening, arriving in Doolin Church for funeral mass at 12 noon on Friday. Burial is to the Holy Rosary Cemetery, Doolin.

FEAKLE woman and Ireland’s oldest person in history, Kathleen Snavely celebrated her 113th birthday in Syracuse, New York State, on Monday but earlier this year she took time out to correspond with pupils at Feakle National School. Mrs Snavely was chosen by Róisín Quilligan and Siobhán Tuohy as part of their Flat Stanley project in school. This project is based on the Flat Stanley books, written by Jeff Brown Stanley, which sees the Flat Stanley character travel the world in envelopes. It began in 1994 in Ontario, Canada, when Dale Hubert had the idea of having children create their own Flat Stanley paper cut-outs and mailing them to friends and family around the globe, in order to foster authentic literacy activities for kids and get them excited to write about Stanley’s adventures. In Feakle, pupils have written to and received responses from a number of famous people, including President Michael D Higgins, Channing Tatum, Ryan Tubridy, Henry Shefflin, Brian Gavin, …