Mae(105) is oldest voter in the country

June 1997

Mae Duggan, Ardcavan, Wexford, made the national headlines on Friday as the oldest voter in the country to cast a ballot in the General Election. The polling station in the Ferrybank Leisure Centre was crowded with politicians, photographers, and an RTE camera crew - all waiting for the 105-year-old woman to arrive.

There was an air of expectation, with poll toppers Brendan Howlin and Ivan Yates and Fianna Fáil candidate Denis Asple all arriving to greet the loyal voter.

‘She’s 105 and she’s voted in everything bar one referendum since she got her vote,’ Brendan Howlin told Mr Asple as the media crew waited for Mrs Duggan.

The rain was coming down hard when Mae arrived, and the assembled photographers and RTE crew jockeyed for position in the crowded polling station.

Mrs Duggan got a celebrity reception as she made her way into the building, greeting Mr Howlin with the words ‘isn’t that awful weather?’

The elderly lady was slightly overcome by all the attention, and had to sit down and rest before collecting her ballot sheet.

Mr Howlin handed her a cup of water as the crowd waited for the polling day celebrity to recoup her strength.

‘Oh lovely, is that a drop of whiskey?’ she joked, as the assembled crowd laughed.

Mrs Duggan rested briefly, collected her ballot paper and marked her card before making her way to the ballot box.

She then posed for the cameras as she suspended her ballot sheet over the box.

‘Come on lads, or my arm will get tired!’ she told photographers, before smiling and adding, ‘ this is a laugh!’.

She wasn’t giving any secrets away however, and refused to be drawn when she was asked who she was voting for.

‘ Too many people around,’ she said, as the polling station laughed again. ‘Anyway, I’d never keep all these lads happy at the one time,’ she added, beckoning towards Howlin, Yates, and Asple.

Mae was accompanied by members of her family including daughter Maudie Kehoe, sonin-law Joe Kehoe, and niece Deirdre O’Brien.