Irish centenarian receives call for jury duty

A summons for jury duty was not what Frances McKenna expected to find when she opened a letter addressed to her 101-year-old mother.

Frances' mother, Evy Boylan, is "a mighty woman", her daughter said, but not able for jury duty.

The letter, which arrived on 22 April, stated that Evy was being called to the circuit court in Monaghan on 5 June.

“I open all official documents for mummy,” Frances told BBC News NI.

“I opened it and went, ‘Oh my God’. It was a jury summons."

Frances' story was first reported on Shannonside Northern Sound's Joe Finnegan Show.

The letter stated that anyone who does not attend for jury service could face a €500 (£430) fine, which prompted Frances to take action.

“I thought, 'This is not happening. What do I do?'” she said.

She asked a solicitor for advice, who told her to fill in and send back a form provided with the letter, stating that her mother could not attend court.

“But I thought, 'This will go missing in the post, I’m not doing that'," she said.

"So I phoned a number at the bottom of the letter. I spoke to an actual human being and explained that my mother is in her 102nd year.

“She said, ‘Oh is she coming?’ I went, ‘What do you think?’

"I said no. She said she could be excused.”

According to the Courts Service of Ireland, people are are eligible for jury service if they are 18 or over and on the Register of Electors.

Jury summonses are issued to people randomly selected from the Register of Electors in any area.

However, certain categories of people are exempt for various reasons.

Those over 65 are still eligible to be called, but can ask to be excused.

You can also apply to be excused for medical reasons.

Frances said she had been “anxious” about the situation, adding that there could be a bigger impact on “older people on their own” if they receive a similar letter.

She called for dates of birth and details to be considered before letters are sent.

Evy has mild dementia but she still has days when she is in "good form" and able to enjoy trips into town.

She is "loved very much", Frances added.

Frances has not told her mother about the letter and said there is "absolutely no way" she will.

"She doesn’t need that stress," she said.

To anyone else in a similar position, Frances said to "just phone and explain".

"It’s very scary but you will get excused."