THE SAME CHRISTENING robe in which she was baptised in 1915 was placed on the coffin of Ireland’s oldest person as Ruby Druce was laid to rest in her native Co Donegal earlier today.

A large crowd gathered to say a final farewell to the 109-year-old lady who had seen so much in her extraordinary lifetime.

Born before many of today’s modern inventions were even thought of, Ruby wore the tag of Ireland’s oldest person with ease as she belied her years.

She only stopped living independently when she was an incredible 98 years-old.

A large crowd turned out for Mrs Druce’s funeral mass which was held at St Mary’s Church in the border village of Castlefinn where she was born on nearby Sandy Row.

Renowned violinist Matt McGranaghan’s haunting sound floated across the crisp March skyline with his rendition of The Lark In The Clear Air as Mrs Druce’s coffin was brought into the church.

Another poignant scene was the sight of eight Gardai all saluting Mrs Druce’s coffin as it entered the church.

Fr Ciaran Harkin, the parish priest of the Aughaninshin parish in Letterkenny, where Ruby spent 10 years while living with her niece Margo Butler, who sadly passed away last summer, celebrated the funeral Mass.

She was blessed with an extraordinarily long life.

Fr Harkin said: “She enriched the lives of so many different people in so many ways. I did my best to turn her into a Letterkenny woman, but she was Castlefinn through and through.”

Martin Harran, the husband of Ruby’s niece Carmel, with whom Ruby spent the final eight months of her life, told the congregation how he last stood at the pulpit in St Mary’s Church on the occasion of Ruby’s 100th birthday.

“The entire village turned out to celebrate with her and what was supposed to be a quiet cup of tea turned into a major logistical exercise,” he recalled. “We never imagined that day that we would enjoy Ruby for another nine years.

“When the media talk about Ruby’s life, they talk about the things that she lived through, but it struck me that Ruby’s real history was Ruby herself and the people she touched from her days as a teenager in the shirt factory to her position as Ireland’s oldest person.

There was a large spectrum of people who loved Ruby, from young children who adored her to people who shared so many great memories of Ruby.

Mr Harran said Ruby was very lucky in having the extended family to care for her and “it was Ruby herself who created that”.

“She was someone who was very easy to like and to love. I genuinely cannot exaggerate how much of a privilege it was for Carmel and me to have Ruby in our home for the last eight months.”

Mr Harran thanked the large number of people who aided Ruby, including the team of home helpers, nurses and priests.

A number of items reflecting Ruby’s remarkable life were brought forward at the beginning of the Mass: A photograph from the day of her wedding to her childhood sweetheart Jim Druce in 1956; a cover of the local history club’s annual which showed several images from Ruby’s life; her ninth centenarian medal sent by President Michael D Higgins for her 109th birthday in December; a symbol of her love of boiled sweets; a copy of the Messenger magazine which she used to deliver in the locality; her Rosary beads; and her Christening robe.

A pioneer and a non-smoker all her life, she survived two global pandemics – the Spanish Flu in 1918 and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. She was vaccinated against Covid-19 in February 2021 at the age of 105.

Born to George Crawford and Elizabeth (née McBride), Ruby was the eldest of five children and arrived into this world four months before the Easter Rising of 1916.

Many of those in today’s congregation hadn’t even started working when Ruby had ended her working days having spent 48 years in Porter’s Shirt Factory having started as a 14-year-old.

She married Jim Druce in 1956, but Jim sadly passed away 14 years later.

She had many loves in her life and Daniel O’Donnell was one of them, the singer and his wife Majella bringing Ruby such delight when they visited her at the home last year.

Fr Harkin told the large attendance that Ruby had waited patiently for the call from God.

“It was very much a prayerful waiting,” Friday Harkin said.

It seemed to me that Ruby was in a state of continual prayer.

Fr Harkin remembered a woman whose kindness, caring nature and interesting sense of humour touched the lives of many. “She had a great zest for life and took an interest in the lives of other people. She left a deep impression on so many.

“Ruby Druce fought the good fight to the end, she ran the race and she certainly kept the faith.”

Mrs Druce was led to her final resting place to the sound of the clarinet of local musician Liam Harkin evoking many, many memories of a remarkable woman who lived a long and happy life to her own tune.