Be independent, make mistakes and start yoga - Dublin's 100-year-olds tell us how to live a long life
HOPING TO LIVE to the age of 100? Well, it's easier than you think, according to Dublin's centenarians.
'Yoga keeps you right,' said 100-year-old Eileen Duffy.
Duffy, a proud Dublin northsider who now lives in Dún Laoghaire, was one of 15 people over the age of 100 honoured today at a special teatime event hosted by Lord Mayor Emma Blain.
Asked about the secrets to her long and happy life, Eileen told us: 'As you get older, you have to try the yoga'.
'It's tougher to do, but whatever you can do will do you good. I do it every week!' she added.
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'I try to be as independent as possible – never worry about anything like that.'
She said that Dublin city has changed a lot since she was younger – 'especially the busses'.
Teresa Deasy, a fellow Dubliner, also attended the event.
Teresa, who is 104 years old, was one of the first to receive her certificate from the Lord Mayor today, and was the oldest attendant.
There's currently less than a thousand people in Ireland aged 100 or over, according to the latest CSO data – a fact which doesn't seem to bother Teresa.
Teresa Deasy pictured with Lord Mayor Emma Blain.
Cliodhna Travers / The Journal
Cliodhna Travers / The Journal / The Journal
'I didn't think I'd reach 100, but it just came along,' 104-year-old Teresa Deasy said of the milestone.
Asked on her tips for a long and happy life, Teresa said to 'take things as they come'.
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She was joined at the special event by her son Michael, who flew in from Argentina to mark the occasion.
At another table, Dympna Coyne told us that she 'can't really believe' her age.
Dympna said that she had reached the age of 100 because she 'just went on and on and everything was good, I enjoyed everything'.
Dympna Coyne.
Cliodhna Travers / The Journal
Cliodhna Travers / The Journal / The Journal
Any advice for young people? 'Let them make mistakes, do the right things, enjoy and learn,' she told us.
Teatime celebrations
Fourteen of the city's centenarians, as well as the family of another, attended the ceremony in the Mansion House on Dawson Street this afternoon, where they were presented with special certificates from the Lord Mayor Emma Blain.
Speaking at the event, she said that it was a 'privilege' to welcome the centenarians to the Mansion House.
'I've always said that Dublin is a very special city, and what makes it so special is our people, and I think that all of you here today prove that there's definitely either something in the water or something in the air,' Blain said.
Lord Mayor Emma Blain with Winnie Smith
Cliodhna Travers / The Journal
Cliodhna Travers / The Journal / The Journal
She praised former Dublin City Council Senior Housing Welfare Officer Frank Goodwin, who originally conceived of the Dublin City Centenarians Project in the 1990s.
Frank, now retired and in his 80s, attended the event today.
'I hope I'm here in a couple of decades!' Frank told
The Journal
.
Frank said that the idea for the centenarians project was inspired by the presidential awards given to people who reach 100.
'We said it would be nice if we had an event like that in the city for people living in Dublin,' Frank said.
'Families were invited out for a special day and given a scroll by the Lord Mayor at the time. For those aged over 100 that couldn't make it, I went out personally to make that they got it,' he added.
Speaking of his excitement at the event, he said: 'There's a great vibe, and it's a just happy event and a lovely thing to give people that recognition at that age.'
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