Winifred’s secrets to hitting 100 years!

Hard work and home-produced food are the secrets to Winifred McDonough’s hale and hearty health on her centenary.

The native of Swinford, Co Mayo ‘emigrated’ to Galway when she was just 17 to work but she has never forgotten her roots, being an avid supporter of the Mayo football team.

Winifred continues to do her own housework and is rarely without a knitting needle when she sits down.

She didn’t even take a day off on her 100th birthday, making sure all “the jobs” were done before family and neighbours descended on Frenchville house in Moycullen on Ash Wednesday for the celebrations.

Nobody has ever come out of Frenchville without having a cup of tea and maybe a slice of cake. Her hospitality is legendary.

Indeed, when she ran a Bed and Breakfast she would get the same American visitors returning again and again, bowled over by her award-winning brown bread and tarts, which were the stars of the show at country markets across the county.

An entrepreneur and a businesswoman, Winifred would travel to the weekly fair on Market Street in Galway to sell her eggs, butter and baked goods. She would also sell hand-knitted Aran jumpers to B&B guests, which were in such a demand she would have to draft in local knitters to fill orders.

This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read more on Winifred’s story, see this week’s Connacht Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.