Well - I have to agree with Ryanair on this. Yes it seems heartless, and I am sure she was a nice, defenceless old lady, whose heart was broken by Ryanair - but where do you draw the line? If they made an exception for an 89 year old, because she was clearly so harmless, would anyone care to tell me at what point in life you become harmless? 80? 70? 59?
The airline I work for has turned away pax in the past who have had either no ID at all (including no passports for international services), and on one memorable occasion, a pax who turned up with a paper driving license and a picture of himself on the beach in Spain - which together he thought counted as "Government Issued Photo ID".
Bending rules leads to major problems. Case in point - someone checks in 29 minutes before take off and is allowed to - next time, it is minus 20 then minus 10....
TA