Ireland's oldest person celebrates 109th birthday at home with family and friends

Kitty Jeffery, who was born in Glenville, Co Cork, on November 12, 1914, recently celebrated her 109th birthday at home surrounded by her friends and relations.

The milestone birthday, which means Kitty is currently Ireland's oldest person, was marked by friends and family and, of course, a specially made cake, according to a report this week in The Corkman.

Kitty was born just three weeks before the outbreak of World War I and has lived through some of the most significant events in Irish history, including the 1916 Easter Rising, the Irish War of Independence, and the "dreadful times" of Ireland's Civil War.

Kitty's second eldest child George, 71, who joked that he may be "the oldest son in Ireland," told The Corkman about his mother's "remarkable" life ahead of her 109th birthday.

Kitty's father, James Clancy, was the youngest in his family, born in Ballyorgan, Co Limerick. Clancy and many other members of the family emigrated to Australia in the 1800s to find work. However, Australia's climate did not suit her father and he returned to Ireland with his sister, Kate.

He secured a job working as a manager at the farmland at Glenville Manor in north Co Cork. Clancy married Anne Mills, who was from Ballynoe in east Cork, and together they had two children, Bill and Kitty.

George told The Corkman: “She remembers alright during the troubled times there was a British soldier that rode into the yard looking for the local volunteers and they were told there was nobody here so he went off out again on his horse.

“She also remembers that during the Civil War, a lot of the big houses as you know were burnt and they came to burn the manor and the local people stood up and said, ‘No these are good people in Glenville, they’ve always looked after us,’ so they went away they didn’t burn the manor in that time."

Kitty can even remember learning of the death of Michael Collins in August 1922, when she was a young girl.

“She says they were dreadful times, dreadful times, people dying in the ditches and everything, she says it was awful,” George said.

Kitty's father died when she was just 16 and her family faced hardship for several years. Their home was attached to her father's employment and the family was forced to move to Cork City where they struggled to find accommodation.

Kitty worked various secretarial jobs to make ends meet. Later, she worked as a private secretary for the wealthy Jackson family. Sadly her brother, Bill, who worked for Musgraves, died young having caught tuberculosis.

In the 1940s, Kitty moved to east Cork with her husband George to the farm where she still resides. George died in 1986 at the age of 77 from a blood condition.

Ahead of Kitty's birthday celebrations, she was visited by Rev Richie Cronin and Dr. Sam Mawhinney, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), in October.

During the visit, one of Kitty's four children explained: “My mother’s side of the family are all long-lived, with some of her cousins going on into their nineties, so long life definitely comes from that side of the family."

He continued, “It is incredible to think of the times that she has lived through, as she remembers the Civil War and the Economic War of the 1930s, even the death of Michael Collins when she was very young.

"Her father died when my mother was 16 and as their home came with my grandfather’s job, the family had to move to Cork.

"To this day, she is still very emotionally attached to Glenville.”

“She has always had a quiet, but deep faith, and in days gone by she was very active as a member of the Mothers’ Union and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association. She also worked as a secretary for various people.

"While she sleeps and eats well, this last while has seen her confined to her bed, but she’s in good enough form and had been looking forward to seeing the Moderator. She’s remarkable."

Dr. Mawhinney said: "It is a remarkable thing to have met someone who has lived as long, and has witnessed what we would consider to be ‘history’, especially the times that led up to the founding of the Irish State.

"I prayed for her and would like to wish her every blessing for her 109th birthday next month."