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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Obituary: Sarah Coyle, Ireland's oldest resident at 108 who lived with ‘positive outlook' despite being blind for 68 years
A mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who lost her sight at the age of 40, she lived through the early years of Irish independence and the Civil War, two World Wars and several pandemics. She was born Sarah Byrne on July 24, 1916, in Knockatomcoyle, Co Wicklow, and was one of a family of 10 reared at Coolkenno, near Tullow on the Carlow-Wicklow border. She had clear memories of significant periods in Irish history, including recounting how members of the Black and Tans called to the family farm. They brought her grandfather James out and 'were going to shoot him at the gable end [of the house] — for no reason', her daughter Marian Galligan told the Irish Times earlier this year. However, after he blessed himself, the group leader ordered his men to put down their guns and let him live. Ms Coyle moved to Dublin at 17 and became a housekeeper in Foxrock. At a dance in Dún Laoghaire she met a Cavan man, Tom Coyle, and they married and moved to Drumcondra on Dublin's northside. Tom worked as a postman, and the couple grew vegetables and kept hens, supplying their neighbours with eggs. Their first two children, two girls, died just 10 days after they were born, but the couple went on to have a daughter, Marian, and son, Patrick. Sarah began to lose her eyesight in her 30s and her daughter believes it may have been linked to an incident where she was accidentally hit in the face and it affected her optic nerve. However, as those at her funeral in Blanchardstown on Friday heard, she never complained. Her husband Tom died in 1968 when only in his late 50s after suffering a stroke and a brain haemorrhage. With her two children still quite young, she was given much support by neighbours and her family. Her grandson, Thomas Galligan, said that she continued to garden, using guide wires that she made to navigate from the back door to the flower beds, including roses, and to her tomato plants. She was always someone who was so comforting He described her as very adaptable with a 'positive outlook on life'. One of her most frequent pieces of advice was 'not to bear a grudge' as life was 'too short'. She had been an avid reader before losing her sight, and continued with audiobooks. Ms Coyle also had a strong faith. She welcomed visitors, providing generous hospitality, and loved the sound of children's voices. 'Because she lost her sight, the radio was her insight into what was going on in the world,' Mr Galligan said. 'She loved keeping on top of things and then, when she would be chatting to us, she would be discussing it and getting our opinion. 'She was always someone who was so comforting. She had a very gentle way about her, someone that you go to if you're upset or have any issues. She would calm you.' She was happy to sing a song or recite a poem at social gatherings, but 'to keep the party going' rather than because she wanted to perform. She rarely drank alcohol, apart from the odd sherry on social occasions and attributed her longevity to a good diet, including using the first new nettles of spring to blend with cabbage and help to 'purify the blood'. She received eight presidential medals, the first being when she turned 100. After Ireland's then oldest resident, Phyllis Furness, died last August at the age of 109, Ms Coyle took on that mantle. She was just 10 days short of her own 109th birthday when she died at her daughter's home in Castleknock, where she had been living latterly. Sarah Coyle is survived by her children, her five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
New stamp draws attention to history of civilian internment in Canada
Canada Post unveils new stamps as a tribute to the civilian internment camps during the World Wars. (Canada Post) A new stamp unveiled by Canada Post on Thursday pays tribute to the history of civilian internment in Canada during both the First and Second World Wars. The Canadian government carried out large-scale internment drives during both wars when the War Measures Act was invoked, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. In their press release announcing the new stamp, Canada Post says thousands of people were interned in camps across Canada under the guise of national security. 'Canada Post hopes today's stamp issue will raise awareness about this history and the resilience of the people and communities whose lives were profoundly affected by this forced displacement, confinement and hardship,' the statement said. The stamp has vertical, bilingual text in red behind barbed wires, creating the visual of a fence, which Canada Post states 'captures the gloom and fear of Canada's internment camps.' Recounting camps during the wars The War Measures Act was invoked for the first time during the First World War on Aug. 22, 1914, ending on Jan. 10, 1920, according to the national encyclopedia states. This act empowered the federal cabinet to suspend any civil liberties and impose laws without the approval of Parliament. According to the news release, more than 8,500 men – including more than 5,000 Ukrainians, people from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croats, Czechs, Hungarians, Jews, Poles, Romanians, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes, people from the Ottoman Empire, including Armenians and Turks, the German Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria, were held at these internment camps during this time. More than 200 women and children chose to voluntarily join their male relatives in internment. An additional 80,000 people, the majority of whom were from Ukraine, were made to register as 'enemy aliens,' the news release said. 'People experiencing homelessness and unemployment, conscientious objectors and members of outlawed political groups, especially socialists, were also interned,' the release said, adding that detainees were put to work on labour-intensive projects in harsh conditions, which made them vulnerable to disease, injuries and death. More than 100 people died during this time and many were buried in unmarked graves, the news release recounts. The War Measures Act was invoked a second time shortly before the beginning of the Second World War, on Aug. 25, 1939, and later replaced by similar legislation on Dec. 31, 1945, the online publication reads. More than 40 internment camps held over 20,000 people, out of which around 26 camps were in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick. People targeted during the Second World War included Germans, Italians, Jews, Japanese, members of the outlawed organizations in Canada and labour leaders. The War Measures Act was repealed in 1988 and replaced by the Emergencies Act, which does not allow the cabinet to act on its own during a national emergency. 'It also reminds us of our responsibility to learn from the past,' Canada Post said.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Essex teenager living and working like it's the 1940s
While some 16-year-old boys spent all their time playing video games or football, one teenager preferred to immerse himself in all things from around 1940 from Colchester in Essex, developed a love for the era as a child after learning about the World Wars. He said the period had a great sense of community support, and he loved the "elegance" of how people composed two years now, Lincoln has also been delighting customers at The Shed antiques shop and Nora's 1940s Tea Room in Sproughton, Suffolk, where owner Lesley Austin said he was "adored". "I liked the clothing, how they dressed, and the style," Lincoln explained."Just the elegance of how everyone was and acted... with the time of the war, everyone had to come together, everyone had to fight, and everyone had to survive together."Most people back then said it was scary, but it was quite fun to live then, and they could go out, help each other and apparently there's not that much stuff today that is similar to what that wartime experience was." Lincoln said he loved the music of the time, including Henry Hall, Jack Payne and Ambrose & His Orchestra. The teenager's wardrobe was also entirely made up of clothes from the era, which he said he preferred to modern-day clothes. He even cycled on a 1939 bike when out and about researching and finding items for his collection. Lincoln said his friends and family loved his passion, with his parents often helping him find memorabilia, a lot of which can be found all over his he has only just finished his GCSEs, Lincoln planned to eventually own his own home and decorate it with items from the era, and use only antique appliances."I would like to try it and give it a good go, even though it will be hard, I'm sure it will be good fun as well," he said. While a fun passion for the teenager, there was a more serious side to his love of the era."I feel like they did so much for us that we owe everything to them," he explained."I think people need to give more care. "Not many people really give a care anymore... I see loads of people sitting on a memorial, and I think they need to learn more and to remember the sacrifice that was given." Ms Austin met Lincoln when he visited the tearoom with his mother and brother, and she decided to offer him a job."I thought this was a special boy, he is so different, so passionate about the era, and so pleasant as well and chatty," she said."His knowledge is second to none. The customers adore him; they think he's wonderful."He always looks amazing, we never know what outfit he's going to come in." Lincoln's mother, Nicola Young, 47, said he was "not afraid of being bold" or "different in everyone else's eyes"."We're proud of him, proud of what he is doing," she said."This is Lincoln, we accept Lincoln as this person... this is his life and his passion."We support him with decorating his bedroom, we take him around antique shops, he'll trawl through vintage shops, we take him to all different places all over when we can."We will try and support him as much as we can." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Sunday World
16-07-2025
- General
- Sunday World
Ireland's oldest woman Sarah Coyle dies peacefully at the age of 108
'You knew when you were talking to her that you were in the presence of someone significant' – says Mrs Coyle's grandson Mrs Coyle, who was born in Knockatomcoyle, Co Wicklow on July 24, 1916, died peacefully surrounded by her family in Co Dublin on Monday evening, 10 days before her 109th birthday. Her grandson, Thomas Galligan, said his grandmother was an 'inspiration', who lived an amazing life through two pandemics, the Civil War, the War of Independence and two World Wars. "You knew when you were talking to her that you were in the presence of someone significant. She was amazing,' he said. She was one of 10 siblings – and one of three who lived over the age of 100. Her younger sister, Lily, aged 103, lives in Birmingham in the UK. One of Ireland's oldest people, Sarah Coyle, celebrating her 108th birthday last July. She grew up in Coolkenno before moving to Dublin at the age of 17, where she married her husband Tom Coyle – a near namesake of the place where she was born in Co Wicklow – in 1950. She lost her sight just seven years later, at the age of 40, though lived independently for much of her life following her husband's death in 1986. Mrs Coyle has two children, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. "She loved children, even though she couldn't see she would know the sound of the children's voices. She was just so happy when she had children with her,' said Mr Galligan. Mrs Coyle had been living with her daughter, Marian Galligan, in Castleknock, Co Dublin, for the last number of years. Her son, Patrick, lives in Australia. She received eight Presidential medals throughout her life, one for the year she turned 100 and another for each year since. "She was always someone who was so comforting. She had a very gentle way about her, someone that you go to if you're upset or have any issues. She would calm you,' said her grandson Mr Galligan. "She loved nothing more than having a cup of tea and chatting away for hours. She would just be so happy with the company. Ireland's oldest woman Sarah Coyle, who died yesterday at the age of 108. "Because she lost her sight, the radio was her insight into what was going on in the world. She loved keeping on top of things and then, when she would be chatting to us, she would be discussing it and getting our opinion on things.' Mr Galligan said his grandmother was a 'kind-hearted person who would have never held grudges against anyone' and was the type of person who would say 'life is too short to be holding grudges'. "She always thought about others before she thought about herself. She was a very kind, gentle soul, gentle person.' Mr Galligan recalled how his grandmother could recount stories from the War of Independence, encounters with the Black and Tans, and the rationing faced by the country during the Second World War. Sarah Coyle. "She lost her sight when she lived on her own. She loved gardening and flowers. She used to have different guide wires that she made by herself with her hands, to guide from the back door to the flower beds and she knew exactly where the tomato plants and the roses were, to guide herself around. "She was very adaptable with a positive outlook on life. She learned to be happy with what she had and if her family was happy, she was happy.' Like most things in her life, he said she took the title of being one of Ireland's oldest people 'in her stride' and her family has many happy memories of time spent with her. "If we could all aspire to that. Her whole mantra was to kind of 'live and let live, life is too short to be having arguments'.' A funeral mass for Mrs Coyle will take place in Blanchardstown Village Church on Friday morning at 10am, before she is laid to rest alongside her late husband in Glasnevin Cemetery. Ireland's oldest woman Sarah Coyle, who died yesterday at the age of 108 Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 16th
Irish Independent
16-07-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
‘She would say life is too short to be holding grudges' – Ireland's oldest woman Sarah Coyle dies at the age of 108
Mrs Coyle, who was born in Knockatomcoyle, Co Wicklow on July 24, 1916, died peacefully surrounded by her family in Co Dublin yesterday evening, 10 days before her 109th birthday. Her grandson, Thomas Galligan, said his grandmother was an 'inspiration', who lived an amazing life through two pandemics, the Civil War, the War of Independence and two World Wars. "You knew when you were talking to her that you were in the presence of someone significant. She was amazing,' he said. She was one of 10 siblings – and one of three who lived over the age of 100. Her younger sister, Lily, aged 103, lives in Birmingham in the UK. She grew up in Coolkenno before moving to Dublin at the age of 17, where she married her husband Tom Coyle – a near namesake of the place where she was born in Co Wicklow – in 1950. She lost her sight just seven years later, at the age of 40, though lived independently for much of her life following her husband's death in 1986. Mrs Coyle has two children, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. "She loved children, even though she couldn't see she would know the sound of the children's voices. She was just so happy when she had children with her,' said Mr Galligan. Mrs Coyle had been living with her daughter, Marian Galligan, in Castleknock, Co Dublin, for the last number of years. Her son, Patrick, lives in Australia. She received eight Presidential medals throughout her life, one for the year she turned 100 and another for each year since. "She was always someone who was so comforting. She had a very gentle way about her, someone that you go to if you're upset or have any issues. She would calm you,' said her grandson Mr Galligan. "She loved nothing more than having a cup of tea and chatting away for hours. She would just be so happy with the company. "Because she lost her sight, the radio was her insight into what was going on in the world. She loved keeping on top of things and then, when she would be chatting to us, she would be discussing it and getting our opinion on things.' Mr Galligan said his grandmother was a 'kind-hearted person who would have never held grudges against anyone' and was the type of person who would say 'life is too short to be holding grudges'. "She always thought about others before she thought about herself. She was a very kind, gentle soul, gentle person.' Mr Galligan recalled how his grandmother could recount stories from the War of Independence, encounters with the Black and Tans, and the rationing faced by the country during the Second World War. "She lost her sight when she lived on her own. She loved gardening and flowers. She used to have different guide wires that she made by herself with her hands, to guide from the back door to the flower beds and she knew exactly where the tomato plants and the roses were, to guide herself around. "She was very adaptable with a positive outlook on life. She learned to be happy with what she had and if her family was happy, she was happy.' Like most things in her life, he said she took the title of being one of Ireland's oldest people 'in her stride' and her family has many happy memories of time spent with her. "If we could all aspire to that. Her whole mantra was to kind of 'live and let live, life is too short to be having arguments'.' A funeral mass for Mrs Coyle will take place in Blanchardstown Village Church later this week, before she is laid to rest alongside her late husband in Glasnevin Cemetery.
