| Mary Walsh | |
 Walsh on her 110th birthday in 2018 | |
| Birth: | 9 April 1908 Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland (then part of the UK) |
| Death: | 12 April 2018 Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia, USA |
| Age: | 110 years, 3 days |
| Country: |  IRL USA
|
| Validated | |
Mary Anne Walsh (née Campbell; 9 April 1908 – 12 April 2018) was an Irish-American supercentenarian whose age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) in 2022. She was the oldest known living person born in Ireland at the time of her death.
Biography
Mary Walsh was born as Mary Anne Campbell in County Mayo, Ireland (then part of the UK), on 9 April 1908. She was the oldest of 13 children born to her parents, Thomas and Norah (née Higgins) Campbell. Her father was a farmer. She helped raise her younger siblings since her mother needed special care during the pregnancies. As a child, she was somewhat of a tomboy, and liked to explore the local fields.
Walsh disliked the idea of staying in Ireland and becoming a farmer’s wife so, at the age of 18, she emigrated to the United States and worked in the Philadelphia area. She later married fellow County Mayo native Daniel P. Walsh in around 1937 and had five children with him: Daniel Jr., Mary (married Dinella), Anne (married Paulsen), Catherine "Kay" (married Stanton), and Joan (married Baldwin).
After living in Bronx, New York for a while, the couple moved to Howard Beach, New York, where their children grew up. Daniel Walsh Sr. died in 2004 after 67 years of marriage. A decade later, when Mary was 106, she moved into a nursing home in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia. As a centenarian, she loved gardening and walking.
Walsh was affectionately known as "Nanny" by her friends and family. On 19 July 2016, she became the oldest known Irish-born person following the passing of Nora Canavan, who was a month older. Walsh received a congratulatory card from the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, a week prior to her 110th birthday. Two of her siblings lived to be centenarians. She was predeceased by her daughter Joan and her son-in-law Joseph Baldwin, as well as her son, Daniel Jr.
Walsh died in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, on 12 April 2018 at the age of 110 years, 3 days. She was survived by her three living daughters (and their husbands), her daughter-in-law Ann, 23 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
References
- Albemarle County Woman Celebrates 110th Birthday NBC 29
- Mary Campbell Walsh Obituary Fluvanna Review
- Ireland’s Oldest People Finbarr Connolly