Ninety reasons to celebrate for Tuosist PO’s Maureen
SHE may be well past retirement age, but Maureen O’Sullivan is keeping herself forever young as she continues to run her own shop and a post office agency – the only rural shop between Kenmare and Ardgroom.
A familiar face to the local community, those that know and love Maureen came out to mark a very special occasion last weekend – her 90th birthday at the Brooklane Hotel .
Maureen was born in Ardea, Tuosist, on February 2, 1929, and attended Lehud National School between 1935 and 1944. Soon after, she went to work in the nearby presbytery for almost two years.
In 1951 she married Patrick O’Sullivan of Tuosist Post Office and eventually took up the role as postmistress herself after rearing five sons – three of whom became members of An Garda Síochána.
One of these is a former assistant commissioner of the force.
She retired from the po- sition in 1996 but stil runs a post office agency that provides basic services and a local shop.
Over the years, thousands of visitors have arrived to her door, some looking for their ancestral roots, others seeking directions and other pieces of information.
Maureen is a fountain of knowledge about her local area and she has frequently shared this knowlege in the Tuosist Parish Newsletter by providing photographs and articles over the years to the publication.
Despite the milestone birthday, she says she has no plans to retire and take things easy just yet.