People of Inverclyde: Former Ricos manager Mags Copeland

In our People of Inverclyde feature this week we speak to the 66-year-old gran, born and bred in the east end, where she still stays.

From her time as restaurant manager in Ricos to working in home care support Mags has been a part of thousands of peoples' lives.

Since retiring, after falling at home and fracturing her hip, Mags refuses a quiet life, continuing to help wherever she can and volunteers with the charity Home Start Inverclyde.

But it was during the pandemic, while also working on the frontline as a carer, Mags found herself in the spotlight.

She volunteered in between shifts to work as part of the Belville Community Garden team making up lifeline food boxes for people who were in isolation and alone.

Even today, as she recovers from a broken hip, Mags door is always open for anyone in need.

Mags, who lives at Kilcreggan View, said: "We have a lot of new neighbours here, New Scots, people who have moved from other countries.

"Sometimes they need a little hand, there might be something they are unsure of. We have stepped in to help them with furniture or clothes, things they need.

"I get chaps at my door or the phone goes!

"But that is just what you do when you are from the east end, you look after one another. Because if we don't do it, who else will?"

Many in the town know Mags, who grew up in Gibshill, from her 11 years as a manager of Ricos, a wine bar, disco and restaurant that was the very heart and soul of Greenock.

She said: "Those were unbelievable times, I loved it at Ricos - it was a brilliant atmosphere. People still come up to me today and want to talk to me about Ricos.

"Ricos was a great time in my life, I loved working there and I knew everyone. It was a real family business."

As a teenager she left Greenock to work with P&O travelling the country before coming home at 23 and bringing up her daughter Carla.

Mags went into hospitality, working at Ricos before ending up at Harry Ramsden's in Glasgow.

After a few other jobs she went into home care, first with Allied and then Inverclyde Council.

During the Covid-19 pandemic she told the Tele that she loved to visit the older people, and was often the only company they had.

Speaking three years on she said: "I loved being a home carer because I worked in the area where I live, it was great fun.

"I volunteered for Belville because I didn't know what else to do with my time when I wasn't working. I need to be active. It was as much for me."

But as well as taking on frontline roles, it is what Mags does behind the scenes and everything else in between, that also makes a huge difference.

Laura Reilly, the former Belville manager, said she was 'one in a million' in getting the project more food, donations or even fridge freezers - whatever they needed.

Today Mags helps Auchmountain, using her large network of friends, family and neighbours to come to people's aid whether it is food, clothes or some kind of home emergency.

Her incredible work won her a Tele Community Champions award.

Mags had a nasty fall in her house last year, suffering a fractured hip and she ended up needing a hip replacement.

She was forced to retire from work, but is battling on and still volunteers with Home Start Inverclyde, a role she first started three years ago.

Mags said: "I love the charity. I used to go in with families on a one-to-one. But I can't do that now with my hip.

"I go to the New Scots group. I love listening to their stories. They are such strong, strong women who have come through so much."

In her spare time Mags spends it with daughter Carla, her grandchildren Erin, 22, Aiden, 15, Liam, 12, and her great-grandson Riley, 16 months.