Kilcloon woman"s 100th birthday

Family, friends and neighbours of Kilcloon woman Mary McCarthy joined her to mark her 100th birthday at the weekend. The Mayo native celebrated her centenary with a Mass and tea party at Moyglare Nursing Home in Maynooth, where she has lived for the past short while. Born in Raheenbar near Castlebar, she was visiting relatives who had moved to Meath with the Land Commission when she met Michael McCarthy, a Kerry native who had also migrated to Meath. They were married in 1948, and settled to farm in Kilcloon. The couple had a family of four, Mary, Donal, Michael and Sean, and Mrs McCarthy has 15 grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 2000. On Sunday, her birthday Mass was celebrated by Fr Gerry Rice, PP, Kilcloon, and Fr Brendan Casey, chaplain at Moyglare, in the nursing home, and Mrs McCarthy enjoyed the day immensely. 'She was very excited in the run up to it and spent Monday recalling and recounting the day, after a good sleep,' her daughter, Mary, said yesterday (Tuesday).