Smoker Kitty to celebrate 100th birthday

By Bridget Delaney

She’s been 90 years puffing cigarettes, yet Nenagh woman Kitty Shoer is now making preparations to celebrate her 100th birthday next week.

Smoking leads to the premature death of millions worldwide every year, but Kitty from Saint Joseph’s Park, on the cusp of her centenary, smokes 15 cigarettes a day.

The mother of seven children told The Guardian that she started smoking when she was just 10 years of age.

She once tried to kick the habit but says she was in such foul humour after coming off the fags that her late husband, Michael, actually put a cigarette back into her mouth to restore her peace of mind!

Now Kitty is getting ready for her big birthday with family and friends in the Thatched Cottage in Ballycommon on Saturday, August 17, two days after she reaches 100 on this coming Thursday.

All her family are looking forward to the event and to hear her sing her party piece, ‘Red is the Rose’.

She won’t need a drink to be prompted to sing – she doesn’t drink alcohol – but a few cigarettes outside the premises will surely add to her enjoyment of the big occasion.

Experts say that long-term smokers generally have a greater risk of diseases cancer and heart disease and their life expectancy is at least 10 years less than non-smokers, but Kitty is still in great order, and despite her ripe old age, her only complaint is fading sight.

BURGESS ROOTS

Kitty, who originally hails from Burgess, was born third in a family of ten, five boys and five girls.

She was born on August 15 1924 in a rented house in the parish where her three eldest siblings - Mary, Paddy and Kitty - came into the world as home births.

The family later moved into a house of their own in Curraghmore in Boher, the same townland where Matt McGrath - the Olympic champion in the hammer in 1912 and silver medallist in 1908 and 1924 - was born and grew up.

Her late sister Mary (Kelly) was well-known to most in the locality as she was the Postmistress in Carrigatoher Post Office until that office closed following her retirement.

Kitty recalls the old tradition of platform dancing and used to attend such social evenings at the Five Alley in Burgess.

She met her husband Michael while working in Powell's Bar in Nenagh. Six of her seven children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be among those celebrating her big day.

Sadly, one of her children, Billy, a former Mayor of Clonmel and a member of Clonmel Borough Council, died in June of last year.

Eight of her nine siblings have sadly passed on, but she still has one sister living in Kilcommon.

Five generations of her extended family will attend her birthday.