Waterford local Sadie Duffin celebrates 100th birthday with friends and family
Sadie Duffin, who celebrated her 100th Birthday at the Holy Ghost Residential Home in Waterford city. Photo: Joe Evans
Waterford local Sadie Duffin recently celebrated her 100th birthday alongside friends, family and staff at the Holy Ghost Residential Home.
A great day was had by all, alongside special guests Mayor of Waterford City & County Jason Murphy and Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan.
Sadie was raised on St Alphonsus Road in Waterford City, and resided there before moving to live on the Cork Road around 1955.
She worked a number of different jobs throughout her life, most notably as a bookkeeper. She also spent a number of years working in England.
“I really had a very ordinary life but I was always very happy" she said.
“Our house on Alphonsus Road was small. There was only two bedrooms, my parents had one, we the girls had another and the boys were downstairs.
"We always had great neighbours."
Sadie’s father worked as a tailor, whilst her mother looked after the seven children.
Her grandfather was one of the souls who was lost on the SS Formby in 1917. His name is engraved on the memorial monument on Waterford’s quays.
The steamer was torpedoed off the Wicklow coast and sank in minutes. There was no warning and no survivors. On board were 37 crew and one passenger.
They were merchant seamen engaged in peaceful trading between Waterford and Liverpool, bringing essential supplies of food and goods between both countries.
“A lot of people from Alphonsus Road lost fathers and grandfathers, and my own grandfather went down with the ship,” Sadie said.
Sadie attended St John of God Primary School in Waterford City, before moving to Sacred Heart Secondary School in Ferrybank.
"I have good memories from my school days and I loved St. John's, that was my parish my whole life.”
Hobbies she has maintained throughout the years include walking, reading, travelling and sewing.
Sadie remains very active in the Holy Ghost, attending outings with friends and enjoying walks in the area.
In her teenage years, Sadie fondly remembers attending dances in the Olympia Ballroom on Parnell Street, where well-known musicians of the time, such as Mick Del, would perform.
Trips to Tramore, shopping in Shaw’s and Kelly’s, meals in the Granville, cycling to Woodstown, and fairs in Ballybricken are personal favourite memories of her youth.
She also remembers times of great worry, however, most notably World War Two.
“We went through the war with rationing,” she said. “We were all issued gas masks, which thankfully we never had to wear. It was an anxious time and we would keep up with it all on the wireless.
“But we had wonderful neighbours during the war. If there was a big family, they would have got more allowances, and so they would share their rations with people who had less."
By the time she moved to London for three years to work as a bookkeeper, technology had advanced drastically, and she had to learn how to work on computers.
Another major turning point in the life of Sadie, and indeed anyone from the era, was the advent of electricity.
Sadie said: “I remember when we first got electricity, it really was the miracle of the century and it made everything so much easier. It changed our lives. It was the biggest thing ever and I remember we would switch on and off the light just to see it working.
“There also weren’t very many cars back then, it wasn’t anything like the number of cars today, there were very, very few. A lot of people had pony and traps, including my own grandmother, and we used to go down to Woodstown on a pony and trap.
“I also remember Waterford Crystal when it was quite small, and then it became by far the biggest operation for employment in Waterford. It was huge here.
“Technology now is gone beyond wonderful. Years ago when people left for America they were gone, you might never see them again or might not see them for years. But now you can see them on the phone."
Sadie credits living a healthy lifestyle throughout her life as being a major reason for reaching the incredible milestone, saying she eats Waterford’s own Flahavan’s porridge every morning and always stayed active through walking.
“I’m very lucky to be as well as I am at 100. I’m very, very thankful, because I do realise that other people at 100 might not be quite as well. I have great friends and family. They all come to visit me and they're all very kind to me. I was always very close to family and I love them all."
Sadie’s nephew, Philip, added: “She’s a great woman and was always very good over the years. If there was ever any issues you’d always go to Sadie because she was always level-headed and helpful.”
Offering advice to younger generations, Sadie said: “Do your own thing and be happy. It’s a very different lifestyle nowadays for young people, but I would say to just follow your own path and do the best you can in life.”
Sadie and her family are very thankful for the staff at the Holy Ghost for the incredible work they do on a daily basis.
"The staff at the Holy Ghost are absolutely 100%, every one of them. I couldn’t praise them enough," Sadie said.
