A WEST Belfast woman has celebrated her one hundredth birthday with her extended family.
Kathleen – originally from the Springfield Road – was born on May 1, 1923. She attended St Mary’s Primary School on the Falls Road before winning a scholarship to go to St Michael’s Girls Grammar School in Lurgan.
Kathleen left school at 16-years-old to work in the Civil Service. She married Brendan Madden in St Paul’s Church in 1948, a lifelong partnership which lasted 52 years until his passing in 2001.
A mother to eight children – Brendan, Gerard, Bernadette, Dympna, Nuala, John, Michael and Kathleen – she also has 18 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Having survived cancer twice, Kathleen was diagnosed with dementia a number of years ago and now resides in Our Lady’s Care Home, off the Falls Road.
On May 1, Kathleen was joined by her family for a day of celebrations with a party held for her centenary celebrations.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, daughter Kathleen said: “I think with the dementia, it took her a while to realise that she was 100-years-old. She would remark on the age of other people in their nineties.
“On Monday, May 1, we had a big party down in the home. It was great to have the whole family there, which has been a rare thing since Covid really as some of us live in USA and Canada.
“It was a really special day.”
Son, Gerard added: “It is a bit surreal and hard to believe. You hear about it now and again but it is obviously different when it is one of your own.
“When you think about all that she lived through, it is even more remarkable.
“Growing up on the Springfield Road and Falls Road was tough over the years.
“She used to always talk about the night of the Belfast Blitz. She had been at a dance in the city centre and had to wait almost all night for the all-clear to return home.
“Her life has been long and eventful. She has lived through a lot. She also had cancer twice, bowel cancer in her late 80s and breast cancer in her 90s.
“It is bittersweet that she survived cancer twice but then got dementia. There are days when she is good and knows who we are. Other days she does not and it is very sad for all of us.
“She always said her secret to longevity is proper food like potatoes and vegetables.”
