The woman believed to be the oldest person in Ireland has died just a few months after celebrating her 109th birthday. Phyllis Furness died in Galway on Monday.
She had celebrated her 109th birthday on 23 May at Moycullen nursing home with her granddaughter Jackie Ord, who had travelled from Melbourne in Australia.
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, Ms Furness moved to a house closer to Oughterard village and continued to live there until last year when she moved to Moycullen nursing home.
Framed greeting cards from the late Queen Elizabeth and current king and queen Charles and Camilla were on display in her room in Moycullen, while she also received commemorative coins from President Michael D Higgins every year since she turned 100.
