Party time for 100-year-old C’strane woman

By TOM GILMORE IT WAS a joyous occasion as 100-year-old Caherlistrane woman Mary (Mamie) Costello celebrated reaching the century on Monday surrounded by members of her extended family, friends and neighbours in her native Killamonagh. From early on Monday morning many willing hands were busy at her home as the kitchen table was turned into a neat and nicely decorated altar for Mass that evening while a marquee was erected out the back to take the overflow of guests attending the birthday celebrations. â€Å“Up to last Christmas she would enjoy a hot whiskey most nights,â€Â says her nephew Michael Naughton who, along with his wife Mary, a former nurse, have been looking after the centenarian in the home where she was born Mary Costello on March 25 1913. She moved back there from Shrule in 1992 shortly after her husband Michael John Muldoon passed away. Her sisters Margaret Naughton and Delia Costello also lived in the house with her until they passed away in 2006 and 2010 respectively. â€Å“My mother was 90 and Aunt Delia was 96 so the three of them have enjoyed long lives,â€Â says Michael. But the three sisters had one brother, John Joe, who died at the age of 15 back in 1934 and another sister, Nora, who emigrated to the UK where she passed away some years ago. Never smoked Michael says that perhaps one of the reasons for his auntâ€â„¢s longevity is because she never smoked and always enjoyed wholesome food. â€Å“She still likes her porridge in the mornings and up to a few months ago she also had a very good appetite for plain food such as bacon, potatoes and cabbage or turnips. â€Å“She gets up every day and likes to see visitors, especially her neighbours, extended family and friends. Over the years one of the visitors was retired Judge Al Oâ€â„¢Dea as she worked in his family home in Kilconly when he was growing up,â€Â says Michael. He added that even though the Presidentâ€â„¢s cheque did not arrive on Monday somebody rang from the Presidentâ€â„¢s office to say that it was on its way but there had been some delay due to Mary having lived at a different address in Shrule during her married life. She and Michael John Muldoon lived in Shrule where he was a postman and it was only after he passed away in 1992 that she returned to live in her native village. Her neighbours are loud in their praise for the way that Mary and Michael Naughton have cared for her over the years and Monday was no exception. With the help of carer Joan Tierney they made her comfortable in the corner of the kitchen of her neat home, sitting beside the Stanley range, while out the back, as the biting March winds blew, other neighbours and family friends were getting the marquee ready for the big event that evening. Last month Fr Pat Oâ€â„¢Brien signed and stamped copies of Maryâ€â„¢s baptism, confirmation and marriage certificates and they are framed and proudly displayed beside a photo of her late sisters Margaret and Delia on the kitchen wall. The Caherlistrane centenarian has seen many changes in her life since she was baptised in the Church of Mary Immaculate and St. Joseph by Fr Michael Heaney PP five days after her birth in 1913. She was confirmed there by Archbishop Gilmartin of Tuam in May 1929 and married Michel John in the same Church in 1959. This week as she enjoyed her 100th birthday Mary (Mamie) was delighted to have the priest of her home parish, Fr Pat Oâ€â„¢Brien, in her home to celebrate Mass as she ensconced herself in an armchair in the corner among family, friends and neighbours for her centenary celebrations.