Ruby Druce, believed to be Ireland's oldest person, turned 109 on New Year's Eve. She is the only person in Ireland still alive who has survived two world pandemics, Spanish flu and Covid-19. Druce attributes her long life to walking, hard work, and cod liver oil capsules.
A Donegal woman celebrated her 109th birthday and recalled how she survived two World War s and only drank once – due to Spanish flu in 1918.
She said: “I never thought in all my years of living that I would live as long.” The lifelong pioneer, who has been widowed for 55 years since her husband passed away in 1970, attributed her long life to walking, hard work, and cod liver oil capsules. Ruby lived alone at home until 2023 when she fell and broke her hip. She then moved in with her niece Carmel and Carmel's husband Martin Harran, who revealed that Spanish flu killed two of Ruby’s siblings, just a month after WW2 ended. Her six-week-old baby sister Mary Elizabeth and her two-year-old brother James both died within the same week before Christmas 1918.
HEALTH IRELAND WORLD WAR PANDEMIC Centenarian
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