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Máirín Hughes, BSc 1935, HDip Ed 1939 (Photo: The Echo)
Congratulations to UCC graduate Máirín Hughes who recently celebrated her 107th birthday at Maryfield Nursing Home, Chapelizod in Dublin. Máirín's celebrations kicked off in style at Maryfield Nursing Home where the Garda band was on hand to serenade the sprightly Centenarian. Maryfield commissioned a ‘pope-mobile’ to bring Máirín out for a spin in Chapelizod and the Phoenix Park, where she met Sabina Higgins, wife of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, who presented her with flowers. Speaking to The Echo ahead of the event, Máirín said she “doesn’t like too much of a fuss.”
“Maryfield is very special. They do things tastefully and are so considerate". She added.
Máirín Hughes was born in 1914 and lived through the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919. She recalls dropping food supplies to the doorstep of sick neighbours with her older brothers Ruaridh and Conn before “running away.” Last year, Áras an Uachtaráin said Máirín was approximately the tenth oldest person in Ireland.
She is UCC’s oldest known Science graduate and qualified with a BSc in 1935 and a Higher Diploma in Education in 1939, an era when Science and STEM subjects were not widely studied by women. She worked in the pathology lab in UCC’s Department of Medicine for 14 years before pursuing a career as a secondary school science teacher in Dublin. Máirín was honoured with a UCC Alumni Achievement Award in 2018.
Read more in The Echo