Kathleen celebrates her 100th
Kathleen Prendergast from Knockskimolin, Oulart, was born the same year as the Uprising.
And she has just celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends at Ferrybank in Wexford town, receiving congratulations from President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
A lifelong supporter of Fine Gael, Kathleen was born on October 25 1916, the youngest daughter of Tom and Kate Prendergast and the last member of her siblings Paddy, Peter, Martin, Margaret and John. Her mother was Kate Ryan from Castleboro, Clonroche.
At 18 years of age, Kathleen was one of the first women to get a driving licence in Wexford and drove the family hackney car for many years. She still enjoys good health and only stopped driving last year.
Kathleen has a very keen mind and remembers all the decades back to her youth, she enjoys following Irish and world news and politics with great interest.
Born when the Great War was at its height, she saw the founding of the Irish Free State, the civil war, the great depression of the 1930s, World War 2, the cold war, mass emigration from Ireland in the 1950s, the coming of electricity to her home and the rise of the economy in the 1960s, and of course the collapse of the Irish economy in 2008, of which she has some interesting observations.
Her family were delighted to celebrate 100 years with much-loved Kathleen and wish her good health and many more years to come.