Published: Wednesday, 24th February, 2010 5:15pm

Ballinahown native celebrates 100th birthday

Ballinahown native Annie Greham celebrated her 100th birthday in style last week with two parties!

Annie, who was the eldest of her family in Ballinahown, came from a rural background and still maintains an interest in farming. She spent most of her life living in The Green, Clara, and now resides at St Vincent's Care Centre in Athlone, where last Thursday she celebrated with her family, friends and staff at the centre with a Mass and a party afterwards. On Saturday she celebrated in Clara with Mass at 2pm followed by a party in Baggot's. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent ahead of her birthday celebrations this week, Annie attributed her longevity to hard work and a healthy lifestyle.

"I had a great healthy lifestyle and plenty of hard work, bringing in the hay and turf, you had to do that," she said.

"Hard work killed nobody," said Annie. "We had to walk everywhere, that's why we were so healthy."

And her opinion on why that healthy lifestyle hasn't continued to today? "Everyone uses cars now to go anywhere. If they could get their car up the stairs they would," said the straight-talking centenarian.After working on her home farm in Ballinahown until the age of 15, Annie then went to work for Dr Doyle in Ferbane, before working for a while in Fallon's in Ballymahon and later in Tullamore, cycling from Clara to Tullamore daily for work. Annie later took work in Goodbody's Factory in Clara and has fond memories of her time there and the factory excursions.

In her early 30s, while living in Clara, she married John Greham and they had six children: Paddy, Marie, Johnny, Kathleen, Phil and Nuala. Her children, too, have fond memories of being brought on visits to seaside towns in their younger days, but joked that it wasn't only them she brought, Annie usually had about 20 local children with her on these excursions to Bray and Galway.