MRS Margaret Rankin, of Florencecourt, Co Fermanagh, who was believed to have been the oldest woman in Ireland, has died just three weeks short of her 110th birthday.
Mrs Rankin was born in 1886 during the reign of Queen Victoria and was married in 1915. She leaves eight children who are all now pensioners, 16 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.
In a recent interview, she said the secret of her long life was eating porridge for breakfast, not smoking, going to bed early and a drop of gin She spent the last years of her life in a nursing home.
Mrs Rankin's funeral is being held today at Druminskill church, Co Fermanagh, followed by burial in the adjoining graveyard.
