Ireland’s oldest woman Sarah Coyle dies at the age of 108

Sarah Coyle on her 108th birthday in July 2024

The death has occurred of a 108-year-old Irish woman who lived through two pandemics, the Irish Civil War, and the War of Independence.

Sarah Coyle, a native of Knockatomcoyle, Co Wicklow, had been living with her daughter Marian Galligan in Castleknock, Dublin.

She passed away peacefully on Monday, surrounded by her family.

Mrs Coyle, who was born in the year of the Easter Rising, is understood to have been the oldest person in the country.

Sarah, whose maiden name was Byrne, was born on July 24, 1916, and grew up in Coolkenno before moving to Dublin as a teenager.

In an interview with The Irish Times in April, her daughter Marian said her mother had a strong memory of the Black and Tans, the British forces who operated in Ireland during the War of Independence from 1919 to 1921.

“When she was very young, the Black and Tans came around and brought her grandfather James out. They were going to shoot him at the gable end [of the house] – for no reason, they were just going around doing purges,” Ms Galligan said.

"He blessed himself and he said, ‘Blessed be the will of God’. At this point, the leader of the group told his men, “Put down your guns. They left him there; they didn’t shoot him. It wasn’t the will of God,” Ms Galligan said.

Mrs Coyle came from a family of ten. Many of her siblings also lived long lives. Her sister Lily Kelly, who resides in Solihull, UK, turned 103 earlier this year, while her brother Andy Byrne lived to 100.

As a young woman, Sarah worked as a housekeeper in Foxrock, Dublin, and met her husband Tom Coyle at a dance. He was a native of Cavan and died in the mid-1980s. He had worked as a postman until ill health set in during his late fifties.

The couple lived in Drumcondra and had four children, two of whom died as newborns.

The grandmother and great-grandmother lost her sight in her early thirties. Sarah rarely drank, other than an occasional sherry “to be sociable.” 

She attributed her long life to her mother’s tradition of adding the first nettles of spring to cabbage “to purify the blood.” 

Mrs Coyle became the oldest person in Ireland following the death of Ruby Druce on March 20 in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

Ms Druce was 109 years and 79 days old at the time of her passing and had lived independently until the age of 98.