Ireland’s oldest man, Paddy Claffey, attributes his longevity to hard work and a good appetite. It probably also helps that he has never drunk alcohol and gave up smoking when he was 45.
Although his mobility is “not so good”, the 104-year-old enjoys an active life and still lives in his own home.
On St Patrick’s Day, Paddy will be the grand marshall of the parade in Clara, Co Offaly.
Born on April 17th, 1921, in his “home house” in the townland of Noggusboy near Ferbane in Co Offaly, Paddy was the youngest of 10 children, with six sisters and three brothers. When he was 13, his appendix burst and he spent 30 days in hospital. “I never went back to school,” he says.
Paddy on his wedding day with his wife Margaret.
He began working with his father cutting turf for sale. “I also worked with the Board of Works driving a dragline, and on the buildings in Ferbane including St Cynoc’s Terrace and the boys’ school. After that I worked with Offaly County Council for 24 years until retirement at the age of 65.”
Paddy married Margaret in October 1953. “She was a Wexford woman who had come to work with the bank manager’s family in Ferbane. She was their housekeeper and cared for their children.”
“She made the best brown bread. We had apple trees in the garden and she used to make tarts.
“Our first baby was a little girl called Margaret, she died at three months from spina bifida. We had three children after that, Kieran, Bríd and Patrick. There are four grandchildren – Fiona, Adrian, Liam and Shane – and six great-grandchildren, Conor, Holly, Isabel, Dara, Shay and Paídí.
Paddy Claffey at home Co Offaly, with his great-grandchildren, Conor (5) and Holly Griffin (3) and twins Isabel and Dara Griffin (15 months), and Paídí (2) and Shay (4) Claffey. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
“My health is very good, my mind is 100 per cent,” he says, though his hearing is not great.
“I was blessed with good health. I have a great appetite and I love my food. I’m very lucky to have great family who look after me so well.”
Paddy’s earliest memory is when he was four years of age and his sister Mary Ann got married and went to live with her husband Jack Bell in the canal lock house in Glyn. “She was very lonely so she brought me to live with them.
“I remember I couldn’t sleep at night with the noise of the water falling down in the lock gates.
“When Mary Ann and Jack had their first baby I came back home to live in Noggusboy.
Another early memory is accompanying his father and brothers as they worked on a garden. The lady of the house brought out a stool for the little boy to sit on, put a coat around him and offered him some freshly cooked ham. He liked it so much that he kept it gripped in his hands all afternoon until he could bring it home for his mother, who he feared might have been lonely without him.
That story illustrates his father’s kindness says Paddy’s son Patrick, who stays with Paddy most weekends.
Paddy Claffey holding two of his great grandchildren, fifteen-week old twins Isabel and Dara Griffin. Also in photo (from left) Fiona Griffin (granddaughter) and her son Conor (5), Patrick Claffey (Paddy’s son), Adrian Claffey (grandson) with his two boys Shay (4) and Paidi (2) Claffey and Janet Claffey (Patrick’s wife) with Holly Griffin (3). Photo: Bryan O’Brien / The Irish Times
During the day he stays with his daughter Bríd in Portumna. “I get up around 10 o’clock each morning,” he says, adding that when the weather is good, he likes to go out on his mobility scooter for fresh air.
He reads the paper every day, watches GAA and soccer on TV and keeps abreast of Tullamore mart via his tablet.
“When I’m in my own home in Noggusboy, I love to go with [son] Kieran in the jeep when he is doing the farming, looking after the cattle and feeding and looking after the horses,” he says. “I also love to drive my quad on the farm.”
He returns to his own home at the end of every day, with one of the family staying overnight.
“He hasn’t spent a night alone since Mam died [in 2004],” says Patrick.
Every night since he was aged six, Paddy has recited a prayer when he goes to bed. He can still recite it word perfect after almost 99 years.