Living in a nursing home throughout the Covid-19 crisis was not her first experience of surviving a pandemic. In an interview with The Irish Times to mark her 108th birthday earlier this year, she vividly recalled the Spanish flu in Ireland in 1918 — her mother “used to look after people” who became ill in the neighbourhood at the time.
“She used to go over to an elderly couple and I would go with her to help carry food and things for them but I was made to stay outside the gate to avoid getting the flu,” she added.Other standout memories of her years in Killarney include the Black and Tans patrolling her area in 1921. She can remember them “driving around the road” and soon after the Free State soldiers arriving in 1922.
In the early 1930s, Hughes moved to Cork to study science in University College Cork, something which she acknowledges was “unusual” for women at the time, though she noted, “I wasn’t the first”. She went on to work as a chemist in UCC’s medical laboratory for 16 years, observing first-hand the changes and advances in medicine at the time and occasionally lecturing. Hughes remained there until she married her husband Frank in 1950. The couple then went to Dublin where she became a teacher. Her husband was a clerical officer in what was Córas Iompair Éireann , the State transport company. The couple did not have children.
“She is in good from, she is wondering a bit what the fuss is all about,” said nurse manager at Mayfield Nursing Home Hayley Gibbons, as Hughes prepared for her outing.
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