Bishop visits Ireland's second oldest person in Coolderry

BISHOP Fintan Monahan, the Bishop of Killaloe, visited Ireland's second oldest person, Eileen (Nell) Hynes in Coolderry last week.
The two shared an amiable chat and the Bishop's visit meant a great deal to the centenarian.
Nell celebrated her 108th birthday on December 15 last with a minimum of fuss and in the company of her family where her cousin Fr Michael Enright from Waterford celebrated her birthday Mass in her home with everyone gathered around.
A couple of years ago it was reported in the local media that on the occasion of her 107th birth she was presented with an engraved Waterford Crystal Chalice by Fr Michael Enright; and that neighbours and friends called in over several days to wish her well.
Nell was in very good spirits for the Bishop's visit. Her mental faculties remain very good and she likes to share stories of her life from her excellent memory.
Née Jones she was born and raised in Cullenwaine Moneygall. She was born on December 15th 1916 and was the youngest of six. She attended school locally and secured her first job in the Post Office in Moneygall. She also did relief work in other surrounding post offices whenever the need arose.
Romance blossomed for Eileen when she attended a house party in her cousin’s house and was introduced to her future husband. In 1939, when Eileen was 23 years old, they got married and she moved with her husband to Coolderry. Be cause of her new station in life she had to give up her work in the post office, but there was “plenty of work to be done not just inside the house, but outside on the farm too.” They went on to raise a family of ten children who are all healthy and happy. “There was plenty of hardship,” she recalled. “Men worked for One Pound a week then and that was good money. I had to bring water 200 or 300 yards from the river, boil it in a pot over the open fire to wash the clothes in a big tub in the middle of the floor. There was no electricity or running water and we used a wash board in the tub. Transport was a pony and trap and the trusted bicycle.”
Her days are now passed sitting by the fire and reading. If she can’t get out for a walk because of the cold weather, she says she “gets a bit stiff”. She reads the Midland Tribune every week and she reads two or three papers every day to keep her up to date with everything that is happening in the world.
She credits her longevity to “hard work and no smoking or drinking.”