Ireland’s forgotten 110-year-olds and how we are to finally honor them

An Irish woman who lived to 111, another who had a 97-year career and a supercentenarian poet. Why aren't these incredible lives remembered and what would be a fitting way to honor them?

From an early age, I have always been fascinated by the concept of people reaching the age of one hundred years, and even more fascinated by the concept of people living past the age of 110  and thus reaching the point of supercentenarian status. 

Undoubtedly the most well-known and accurately validated case of this is Jeanne Calment (1875-1997) of Arles France, who passed away at the age of 122 years in 1997. Something that added further to Jeanne’s longevity was the quirky fact that she so happened to be the last living person to have met one of the most famous painters in history: Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890). 

Whilst the above case of Jeanne Calment is exceptional, Ireland has produced three supercentenarians that are historically significant. Each one of these three cases are sadly largely forgotten in history, and with the wealth of Ireland these days surely there is the possibility to erect some form of memorial to finally honor them. 

Katharine Plunkett

The first of these supercentenarians was Katharine Plunkett (1820-1932). Katherine was a native of County Louth who lived to be 111 years and 327 days old: passing away three weeks short of her 112th birthday in 1932. In 1928, at 108 years old and 12 days old, Plunkett became the oldest person in the world.

Katherine’s father, Thomas Plunkett (1792-1866), was an Anglican clergyman in Castlebelingham, County Louth, when she was born, and was later consecrated as Bishop of Tuam-Killaly and Achonry diocese in 1839. Katharine's grandfather, William Plunkett (1764-1854), was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1830 to 1841.

Whilst visiting her grandfather in Bray in 1825, Katherine met novelist Walter Scott  (1771-1832). Thus, Katherine was the last surviving person to meet Scott.

Katharine Plunkett was included in a list of supercentenarians in the first edition of the Guinness Book of Records (1955), and she is the only one on that list to meet the standards of scrutiny in the years since.

YouTuber, Vsauce, uploaded a video onto YouTube in August 2024, making the point that  Plunkett was six years old when the first photograph was taken. This made her the last living person to know the world before the invention of photography.

Plunkett's encounter with Walter  Scott in 1825 is also a notable memory she would have had of this pre-photographic era. Until this present day, Katharine Plunkett is the oldest person ever to have died on the island of Ireland and is undoubtedly a unique supercentenarian. Three other Irish ladies did live to be older than  Katharine, but they did not die in Ireland. 

Susan O’Hagan

The second of these Irish super-centenarians was Susan O’Hagan (1802-1909). Susan worked for 97 years in domestic service for the Hall family in Lisburn, County Down, from the age of ten until her death in 1909, at 107 years of age.

For many years it was believed that Shigechiyo  Izumi (1865-1986) of Japan was the oldest living person ever. In addition, his 98 years working in a sugar mill, between 1872 and 1970, was also recognized as the longest-ever working career; one year longer than O’Hagan's. However, in the years since, Izumi's longevity has been disproven and it is now thought that he only lived to be 105 years old.

Thus, today Susan  O’Hagan is recognized by the Guinness World Records as holding the record for longest working career. In modern-day society, which rightly or wrongly idolizes career (depending on your perspective), this achievement is something of which people (Irish people, in particular) should be proud and yet it has been neglected by historians. 

Colm De Bhailís

Going slightly further back there is another Irish supercentenarian who is even more historically significant than the other couple mentioned above. I refer here to Colm De Bhailís (1796-1906) who was a native of Connemara, County Galway. He died aged 109.

In his lifetime, De Bhailís was a respected  Irish poet. He is also recognized as the last surviving person in the world, born in the  18th century. Again, this is an astonishing achievement of longevity that modern-day Ireland scarcely recognizes. 

In conclusion, one must ask: what can be done to recognize the above three historically significant Irish supercentenarians? In my opinion, erecting a statue of each of them, or a memorial in their honor outside The Irish Museum of Time in Waterford City, would be very fitting. The aforementioned Irish Museum of Time is Ireland's only horological museum. It's also fitting as Waterford is Ireland's oldest city,  founded by the Vikings in 914 AD.

Taking all things into consideration, this would seem like the finest and most relevant location to finally honor these three remarkable Irish supercentenarians.