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100-year-old who famously wrote lockdown letter to newborn great-grandson passes away

THE 100-year-old Dubliner who had the nation in floods of tears during the summer lockdown with her tender letter to her great-grandson has sadly passed away.

Centenarian Margaret Lynch penned an emotional letter to her newborn great-grandson, who was born during lockdown and is 100 years and one day younger than her.

At the time of writing, Margaret had yet to meet her grandson, due to the restrictions which prevented families from mixing-- but her powerful poem was played on the airwaves almost daily.

The poem was apart of a series by RTÉ during the strictest of the restrictions, titled Lockdown Letters, each offering ""a reflection on an aspect of the situation we all find ourselves in, whether it is separation from loved ones, concerns about mental health, the breakdown of the rituals we hold so dear".

Sadly, RTÉ reports that Margaret Lynch passed away on Sunday, 1 November at Our Lady's Hospice at Harold's Cross.

She had written in her letter to her great-grandson, Daniel, that she hoped to live long enough to have a chat with him and talk about the uncertainty of life when he arrived into the world-- but she did get to meet him once restrictions were eased in July.

In the letter, Margaret writes:

"Daniel, please god when all this virus has passed over, you are going to grow up in a wonderful world with no pandemics and you will be able to run around freely and play with other children like I did."

"I've had a great life Daniel, a long life. It hasn't always been easy, but you have to take the bad with the good. You have to move on from tragedy. Life has to go on. When I am asked what I owe my long healthy life to, I tell them to eat porridge and make cocoa every night."