Margaret Boland

Margaret (Maggie) Boland (neé O'Dwyer) (28 August 1909 – 7 September 2017) was an Irish centenarian who was the oldest known person in Ireland when she died.

Biography
Margaret Boland was born Margaret O'Dwyer in Carrigaholt, Clare, Ireland, as the youngest of four children born to parents John and Mary (née Lyons) O'Dwyer. As a child, she never bothered visiting a hairdresser, and never needed to see a doctor. At a young age, she bade farewell to her siblings who emigrated to New York, staying behind to look after her mother, who lived to be 84.

In 1937, Margaret met farmer Thomas Boland at the Kilkee Races, and they married two years later in 1939. The couple had six children together: Mary, Bridget, Anne, Margaret Jr., Eileen, and Kathleen. Margaret and Thomas worked on a farm together not far from their house.

Thomas Boland passed away in 1973 after 34 years of marriage. Margaret still wore her wedding ring for the 44 years she was widowed. After Thomas' death, Margaret travelled to Canada (which she didn't overly like) and New York (which she was rather pleased with). She was 66 years old when she did so. In 1995, her daughter Bridget passed away aged 53 in New York from a malignant melanoma. Margaret's other daughter Margaret Finnegan says that Bridget's death had affected her mother greatly.

As a centenarian, Margaret liked to read the newspaper and report the news to her relatives. Not one grey hair was on her head even when she turned 100. As of her 103rd birthday in 2012, she had 10 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. She played the accordion all her life, and still had a passion for it as a centenarian. On 25 March 2017, then aged 107, she became the oldest known person in Ireland, following the death of 108-year-old Elizabeth Gallagher.

Margaret Boland passed away on 7 September 2017 in Rhinevilla, Clare, Ireland, at the age of 108 years, 10 days. Her successor as the oldest known person in Ireland is Dorothea Findlater (born 26 December 1909).