Clare salutes Ireland’s oldest man

THE Office of the President has confirmed that O’Callaghan’s Mills man Paddy Gleeson, who celebrated his 106th birthday on May 20 last, is Ireland’s oldest man.
Paddy, who resides at Raheen Community Hospital in Tuamgraney, ranks seventh, however, among Ireland’s oldest people, with six women ahead of him on the list, the eldest of whom is 108.
Paddy now boasts six Presidential medals for each birthday he has celebrated since turning 100 in 2004.
He moved to Raheen Community Hospital in 2006 but lived independently there in Knockatullish until 2008 before he was welcomed into the main hospital.
Like many birthdays before, the staff at the hospital rallied around and held a party for Paddy in the day centre for all his family and friends.
He was formally presented with his sixth commemorative medal from President Mary McAleese by staff at the hospital and he was delighted at such an achievement.
Speaking to The Clare Champion, Maggie Atkinson, acting director of nursing at Raheen Community Hospital said, “All who were present were very proud to be part of such a significant milestone in Paddy’s life”.
“Local musicians and staff provided the entertainment and there was a lot of singing and dancing, which Paddy and his guests enjoyed immensely. Paddy took pride of place at the party and reminisced about his past when he was a young man getting the better of the Black and Tans,” she said.
Ms Atkinson also remarked about Paddy’s attitude to life. “He remains very positive about his life and his reasons as to why he has lived to such a huge age are due to his being nice to everyone and that they were nice to him. He never drank or smoked and he never got married.”
Local historian Tomás MacConmara commented on the wealth of local knowledge Paddy continues to provide to his community.
“After his mother died when he was young, Paddy spent his early life in Tuamgraney from the age of 13 or so up until the age of 16. He experienced the War of Independence and was there for the funeral of the Scariff Martyrs. Up until last year he and Margaret Hoey, who died aged 105 last January, would have been the last survivors who were at that event. Now he is the very last.
“He provides a unique connection to that event. One of his interesting stories about the War of Independence describes the time he had to climb a tree to escape the Black and Tans. He was up the tree from 7pm to midnight watching them raiding houses. It is just a powerful connection to have,” Tomás outlined.
“To have the recollections of someone who was a teenager at the time, I just can’t emphasise enough how unique it is to have his memories. There was another in 1920 where there was an attack on a barracks in Scariff and he heard the bullets and walked over the rubble of the barracks the next day. We are privileged to have a living archive in our county that is willing and able to share these memories,” he concluded.