Wexford school holds heart-warming surprise party for 90-year-old neighbour ‘Granny Graham’

All nine of Mary Graham's children attended Ballyoughter National School years ago and she remains a firm supporter of the school since many of her grandchildren as well as great grandchildren have attended the school in the intervening years. Currently, her grandchildren George, Lucia and Apryl are attending the school as well as her great grandchildren Molly and Sadie.

Ballyoughter NS principal Pádraig O'Connor said Mary who is also affectionately known as 'Granny Graham' by many of the Ballyoughter National School pupils, is a valued member of the school's community as she has provided great support to the school for many years.

"At Hallowe'en we go for a little walk in our fancy dress and she would either be at her gate with treats for the boys and girls or she would have left them out.

"It's the same before the Christmas holidays, she would always drop up a few boxes of biscuits or a few bags of goodies for the kids. Even when we're doing fundraising for the school, she'd always be the first to say 'make sure now that you keep me a ticket for that'," said Pádraig.

On other occasions when the school has run out of the essentials like tea-bags or milk, the school staff don't have to look any further than Mrs Graham's house up the road for some help.

Mary was born and raised in Ballyminane in north Wexford and walked to Ballycanew National School as a child. Mary is the youngest of five children born to John and Mary Ellard and one of her sisters Bridie is still living at the great age of 93.

When asked by her grandchildren if she enjoyed her days at school, it is a firm no and says she was happiest the day she finished school to help out with jobs around the farm and house.

At 19 years old, Mary married her husband George and they went on to have nine children. Sadly, her beautiful daughter Eileen passed away in June, 2023 to cancer and six months later, she also lost her wonderful son in law John Murphy, her daughter Catherine's husband.

Mary worked hard on the family farm which she built up with her husband George and neighbours in Ballyoughter. Her daughter Sheila remembers her mother cycling down to the farm to milk the cows by hand and then cycling home with the bucket of milk and eggs on top.

Mary always had homemade bread, apple tarts, buns, cakes at home which she found time to bake between playing whist and a game of 45.

All nine of her children went to Ballyoughter National School, then her grandchildren and now her great grandchildren are in the wonderful new school building which was officially opened in 2010.

The Parent's Association organised the surprise party for Mary who arrived at the school for what she thought was Grandparent's Day. Little did she know, before the students and teachers started singing Happy Birthday, that she was the only grandparent invited. The pupils made a card with 90 candles on the front of it and a message from each of the children on the inside.

On Sunday, October 13, Mary also celebrated her birthday with a surprise lunch organised by her granddaughter Lorraine Mary, and was surrounded by nearly her entire family consisting of nine children, 27 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren in the Ashdown Park Hotel.

Today's News in 90 seconds - 18th October 2024