After many failed tests it's Driving Miss Maisie
Thursday December 18 2008
An Irish great-grandmother has created a modern take on the classic Oscar-winning movie 'Driving Miss Daisy'.
After failing her driving test around 10 times, Maisie Moran, from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, finally picked up her own award and is currently starring in Driving Miss Maisie.
A delighted Maisie said she had been doing tests since the age of 60 and had failed on about 10 occasions over the past two decades.
However, she never gave up on her ambition of one day getting her full driving licence.
When Maisie eventually passed her test, she and everyone else involved on her test day were over the moon with the positive result.
"The driving tester was so friendly but I couldn't believe it when he told me I had passed the test," she said.
Maisie, who celebrated her 80th birthday last Saturday, added: "Three driving testers who were at the test centre were clapping and laughing and my driving instructor, Donie Ryan, who was with me, threw my L-plates up into the air with delight."
There is nobody more proud of Maisie's great achievement than her four children, 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Bonus
Maisie, a widow who lives three miles from Nenagh in the townland of Ballinaclough, said that getting her full licence was a big bonus as it would enable her to drive into Nenagh to do her shopping and continue her passion for ballroom dancing in outlying villages Cloughjordan and Templederry.
"I used to drive to Limerick to go dancing but I wouldn't do that any more because I don't like the new roundabouts and if I go to Dublin now, I always take the bus."
Maisie paid tribute to her driving instructor for helping her pass her test. "Donie is a terrific teacher and is so kind.
"He was the first person I ever went to for lessons, but I drifted off to other instructors over the years before coming back to Donie again. He told me a lot of stuff that came up in the test."
A full driving licence is the perfect boost for Maisie, who has just returned from a 10-week trip to the US and Canada. Hours after stepping off the plane at Shannon after a long flight from Atlanta, Maisie drove herself to a senior citizens' Christmas party in Silvermines.
"I was just so hyper after the flight that it was as easy to go off to the party ... my daughter says I'm mad," she laughs.
Driving Miss Maisie is now featuring on all roads around Nenagh.
- Peter Gleeson
