IRELAND’S oldest known twins who survived the Blitz whilst working as nurses in London during the Second World War have passed away within two days of each other.
Identical twins Kathleen and Sheila Keogan from Aughalion, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan passed away aged 95 over the weekend.
Sheila passed away on Friday October 2 and, despite being unaware of her sister’s death, Kathleen died on Sunday afternoon.
The pair were born on June 14, 1920 to John and Margaret (Mama) Keogan and had eight siblings - Mary, Eileen, Peg, James, Paddy, Terry, Sean and Bernadette.
As twins, Sheila and Kathleen were almost inseparable and attended national school in Cormaddyduff School, Co. Cavan.
They then moved to the Gilsen-Endowed Academy in Oldcastle, Co. Meath before they both moved to London to train as nurses in Fulham Hospital in 1938.
The duo continued to serves as nurses during the Second World War, surviving the Blitz from September 1940 to May 1941.
The twins wrote home to their family in Cavan most weeks to let them know they were safe, but there was one occasion when they survived a direct hit on the hospital in Hammersmith.
They had been separated when the bomb struck the centre of the building with and it was two days before they found out whether each other had survived.
The Keogan sisters nursed patients in makeshift wards in the London Underground and they both contracted TB.
They travelled to a range of places including San Francisco, the Bahamas and Rome together.
Kathleen had a fondness for cars and owned, among others, a Ford Mustang and Karmann Ghia, which was especially shipped from Germany for her.
Sheila and Kathleen both returned to their hometown of Aughalion, Cavan for retirement.
They both decided to enter the Sheelin Nursing Home in Mountnugent together.
Kathleen and Sheila remain were buried together in Castlerahan cemetery on October 5.
