A 108-yr-old Irish woman, who witnessed two pandemics, the Irish Civil War, and the War of Independence, has passed away, reports Breaking News.
Sarah Coyle, originally from Knockatomcoyle, Co Wicklow, had been living with her daughter Marian Galligan in Castleknock, Dublin. She died peacefully on Monday, surrounded by her family.
Believed to have been the oldest person in Ireland, Mrs Coyle was born the same year as the Easter Rising, reports Breaking News.
Born Sarah Byrne on July 24th, 1916, she spent her early years in Coolkenno before relocating to Dublin in her teenage years.
In an April interview with The Irish Times, her daughter Marian recalled her mother’s vivid memory of the Black and Tans — the British forces active in Ireland during the War of Independence from 1919 to 1921, reports Breaking News.
“When she was very young, the Black and Tans came around and brought her grandfather James out. They were going to shoot him at the gable end [of the house] – for no reason, they were just going around doing purges,” Ms Galligan said, reports Breaking News.
“He blessed himself and he said, ‘Blessed be the will of God’.’ At this point the leader of the group told his men, ‘Put down your guns.’ They left him there, they didn’t shoot him. It wasn’t the will of God,” Ms Galligan said, reports Breaking News.
Mrs Coyle was one of ten siblings, many of whom also lived to an old age. Her sister Lily Kelly, who lives in Solihull, UK, turned 103 earlier this year, while her brother Andy Byrne lived to the age of 100.
In her younger years, Sarah worked as a housekeeper in Foxrock, Dublin. She met her future husband Tom Coyle at a dance. A Cavan native, he passed away in the mid-1980s after a career as a postman was cut short by ill health in his late 50s, reports Breaking News.
The couple settled in Drumcondra and had four children, though tragically two died as newborns.
Sarah, a grandmother and great-grandmother, lost her vision in her early 30s, reports Breaking News.
She rarely drank alcohol, aside from the occasional sherry “to be sociable”. She credited her long life to her mother’s tradition of adding the first spring nettles to cabbage “to purify their blood”.
Mrs Coyle became Ireland’s oldest person following the death on March 20th of Ruby Druce in Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Ms Druce was 109 years and 79 days old when she passed, and had lived independently until the age of 98, reports Breaking News.
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