FORMIDABLE NED HITS 100 YEARS YOUNG WITH A BASH
HE is a big fan of Judge Judy and likes “plain food” and telling “old but good stories,” and walking. On Tuesday, March 7 the formidable, and dapper, Ned Hartnett celebrated the first of six parties to mark being 100 years young.
At Kanturk Credit Union Ned was truly the centre of attention as a cake and a gift of a pen were presented to him. He quickly test drives the pen on a piece of paper and nods with great approval. “Oh, I will use that all right,” he said. When The Corkman spoke to him about the secret to his long life, with a smile and a roguish eye he said it was just like the song – “One day at a time, sweet Jesus.”
Ned is the son of Michael and Mary Hartnett of Knockatoon in Rockchapel. He had eight brothers and one sisterTimothy, Thomas, Mary, Maurice, Mike, John, William, Murty and Jeffrey who were twins, and Ned the baby of the family.
His gift at telling quirky stories is now in second gear. “Murt and Jeff were leap year babies and when they were 84 years old, there was a party for them and the banner said – ‘Happy 21st birthday.’ Oh we got a right kick out of that, especially since the two boys were 84 years. I’m the last left of them all now and today I am 100 years. I’m delighted to reach 100 years.”
While it has been well recorded that Duhallow has the highest ageing population in the country, Ned certainly has tapped into that longevity and cites plain food as being central to his good health.
“I am very fond of milk and always have my porridge in the morning. I like plain food and nothing fancy and I also like lamb and fish. I’d always have meat and vegetables with my dinner,” he said.
Although, he did admit he can have “a bit of sweet tooth.”
Ned married Kitty Lucey from Ballinagree in Macroom in 1954. They raised six children; Maura (San Francisco), Joan (RIP), Michael (Carrignavar) Rose (Boherbue), Nora (Macroom) and Eddie (Cork city). Ned has always been a very active person and worked as a butter maker at Kanturk Creamery, starting work in 1954. He worked until his retirement when he was 65 and along the way, he picked up an award in the 1960s for having the best butter. The award he tells me is under his TV at home.
While he doesn’t watch much too much TV, he is a big fan of Judge Judy. !”She makes a lot of sense,” he says. He also watches the news and is very much up to date on all the local news too.
When he retired, he started to walk two miles per day and really enjoyed it. He hops into the cot each night at 7pm and wakes at 5am and shortly afterwards he gets up. Many in Kanturk would have seen Ned strolling at 6am to St Patrick’s Cemetery and later in the day, he would go for a second gallop. For 10 years, he said he used to walk around the car park at Supervalu in the town.
“The doctor told me it’s what is keeping me young,” said Ned with a big smile.
Did he ever smoke? “Oh I did. But I went to the doctor with my throat and the doctor said to me to give them up. I was walking over the bridge in the town that day and the river was high and in they went and that was the end of that. That was 1988,” he said matter of factly.
And what about a tipple? He smiles and said he is a “sociable drinker,” and is “occasionally” fond of a brandy and a pint of Guinness.
He said he can clearly remember growing up in Knockatoon and going to Knockaclarig NS. And his gift at telling stories is now edging into fourth gear.
He can remember when the Master at Knockaclarig NS challenged him to kick a ball straight at him. Ned duly obliged and it hit the Master right smack bang at the side of the face. “Oh I kicked it all right,” he said with a devilish smile and recalled the story as if it only happened yesterday. He also launches into a six verse poem about Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in Rockchapel. The verse is pitch perfect with his razor sharp memory.
He said he has great faith and for the last 30 years “consecutively” he has gone to Lourdes. He stops and said: “Now, I have another story about that. Our Lady Crown and Queen is just inside the gate of Lourdes and I always look up and say to her, ‘I will be back, “he said.
He then turned and said: “Do you know (John F) Kennedy also said the same thing when he came to Ireland, but the difference is he didn’t come back but I did.”
“I love stories, particularly old stories. I love them. I have a lot of very happy memories and I have a lot of happy stories too,” he said. Ned has also travelled over to see his daughter in San Francisco and has been to London many times along with going to Ballybunion and Lourdes for 30 years in a row.
This year in Lourdes, he will pack his suitcase again and said a party will be held for him. “I was told last year when I reached 99 that there would be a party for my 100th, so won’t that be nice,” he said. And speaking of parties, Ned will have six to attend to mark his big birthday.
On Saturday night, there will be the mother and father of all hooleys at the Dromhall Hotel in Killarney. Ned sat down and wrote out 150 invites himself.
While he reads the paper, he said he doesn’t read books. “I’m waiting to get my cataracts done for the past two years. They (HSE) would want to hurry up, wouldn’t they,” laughed Ned.
And with that Ned was getting ready for the off as his family had a lunch planned for his big birthday. With a smile, he turned around and said: “What ever you do, make me look good anyway,” he said with a glint in his eye and a giggle. There isn’t any other way to have the mighty Ned Hartnett.