Woman believed to be Ireland’s oldest person dies aged 109

Phyllis Furness celebrated her 109th birthday on May 23 this year at Moycullen Nursing Home with granddaughter Jackie Ord. Picture: Mowlam Healthcare

The woman believed to be Ireland’s oldest person has died. Phyllis Furness passed away in Galway on Monday just a few months after celebrating her 109th birthday.

She celebrated her birthday on May 23 this year at Moycullen Nursing Home with her granddaughter, Jackie Ord, who travelled from Melbourne, Australia, to be there.

She expressed a wish at the time to reach her 110th birthday and become a supercentenarian.

Born Phyllis Olwyn Ryder in Nottinghamshire in England, she moved with her husband, John, to the Glann Road outside Oughterard in 1981 as a retirement project. Her husband was keen on angling and wanted to be near Lough Corrib.

After he died in 1984, Phyllis Furness moved to a house closer to Oughterard village and continued to live there until last year when she moved to Moycullen Nursing Home.

She became an active member of the local community, particularly in Kilcummin Church, when she arrived in Galway over 40 years ago.

She married in 1940 and had one son, John, who was born in 1942 and died in 2012.

She received commemorative coins from President Michael D Higgins every year since she turned 100, while framed greeting cards from British royal members were on display in her room in Moycullen.