MARGARET Keenan turns 91 tomorrow. A week ago today, Margaret made history when she became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer vaccine for Covid 19.
It wasn’t long before it was deduced that Margaret is an Irish granny. She hails from Co Fermanagh. This confirmation immediately meant that Margaret became much more interesting and much more than the first person to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
Now, who is she exactly? Writer Emer McLysaght started a hilarious thread on Twitter. Her initial tweet was as follows:
Me: A woman from Enniskillen got the first vaccine, Mam.
My mother: Who? One of the Fergusons, I bet.
The responses that followed are comedy gold and had me in stitches. ‘The poor Fergusons.’ Emer later revealed that her mother is from Fermanagh – so there is fair chance that she knows Margaret. After all, Fermanagh isn’t that big.
We are parochial creatures and can’t help ourselves having the exact same conversation when trying to ‘place’ people. It’s our favourite pastime.
I have lost count of the number of times Mummy will mention someone from home – usually in the context of someone who has died – and she then proceeds to tell me that I know them. "Ach, ye do surely – they’re..." and so the conversation continues.
The minute we hear someone has a link with any part of this island, we furiously try to work out the connections. 'Who are their people?’
Six degrees of separation applies at all times. How many times have you bumped into someone when on holiday or away from home, only to work out that you have a friend, relative or someone in common? It’s part and parcel of being born on this island, and the result of generations of emigration.
In early November, as we watched CNN’s John King and his magic wall, John secured lasting superstar status when it was confirmed that he has Irish lineage. As for President–Elect Biden, every second person in Ballina and Carlingford is claiming to be a relative.
This week Margaret Keenan became a household name. Co-incidentally, she raised a lot of money for charity because she wore a charity T-shirt when going to get her jab. An inspired decision.
I’m still not completely sure where exactly in Fermanagh Margaret is from, or more importantly, which Keenan she is. I look forward to an Irish News reader confirming that for me.
Happy 91st birthday to you, Margaret – now the most famous Irish granny in the world.
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AS THE end of 2020 approaches, we begin to gather our thoughts on the type of year it has been. As mentioned many times in this column, live music has stopped due to the pandemic. Musicians are off the road. Most have up-skilled, invested in recording equipment and have mini-music studios set up at home.
Every day my inbox is full of new music – made at home – in isolation. I try to listen to everything that is sent to me.
A song title jumped out at me this week. It was sent in by Derry legend Paddy Nash. The song is released this Friday and it’s called Sky Blue Raleigh Tomahawk – a nod to the best Christmas present ever. There was nothing more magical in the world than the excitement of Christmas Eve, then getting up early on Christmas Day to come down the stairs and see all the toys Santy had delivered. (He is still called Santy in our house.)
A few weeks ago, for my daughter’s first birthday, Mummy gave her a doll’s pram. Not just any doll’s pram – it was mine. Santy had delivered it for my second Christmas. Seeing Neansaí take to the pram and push it around the kitchen, all business, was a heartwarming moment.
I have some other toys that are in good condition and I look forward to passing on to her. I wonder how she will react and if she will love them as much as I did. I’ll have to wait and see.
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AT TIME of writing, I still don’t have a clue what’s going on with Brexit. That said, Michael Gove went out of his way to ease any anxiety any of us might be feeling about the situation.
His words, "British sausages will continue to make their way to Belfast and Ballymena in the new year," went a long way to allay my fears – just when I had been thinking about embracing vegetarianism in the new year.
