THANKS to Chris Dunne of echolive.ie for this uplifting story of Cork-based Norma Coughlan who celebrated her 80th birthday this week and has spent 52 years of her life dedicated to the Order of Malta, the essential organisation in a day’s racing or pointing.

Norma married her late husband, Bernard, in September 1966, and decided to join him on the front line in the Order of Malta.

Now Captain Norma Coughlan, she is a member of the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps Carrigaline. She and Bernard had five children and all became members of the Order of Malta too.

The Order of Malta Ambulance Corps is a voluntary ambulance and first aid organisation with more than 4,000 volunteers, throughout Ireland.

Norma is no longer on the road in the ambulance but is involved in running first aid courses for the public and companies, and in particular, student nurses at UCC and local schools.

She also assists with unit training every Thursday night in the Carrigaline unit.

She sensibly stayed well back attending fences on track just in case a loose horse targeted her or an unfortunate jockey got fired off and she said in the echolive.ie piece: “When the jockeys were jumping over a fence, I looked through my hands!”

The Order of Malta honoured Norma’s 50th anniversary with mass in the North Cathedral and she was presented with a medal.

Wishing Tom all the best

A MAN with a great interest in racing, Tom Monaghan of Monagan’s Cashmere, is devastated that for the second time this year the city centre shop has to close. Now 95, Tom always turns up for work at the store in South Anne St, run with his daughter Suzanne. You can still support this Irish business online and we look forward to checking out the gorgeous stock in time for Christmas.