County Armagh family with combined age of 1,117 years aiming to enter the record books
- Published
Some of the Donnelly siblings at their sister Maureen's 90th birthday party
One County Armagh family, with a combined age of over 1,000 years, is hoping to find out if they are the oldest living siblings in the world.
The 14 surviving members of the Donnelly family met on Saturday to celebrate their sister Maureen's 90th birthday.
The family come from Collegeland on the Armagh-Tyrone border and are hoping to enter the Guinness Book of Records.
In the run-up to Maureen's birthday, her brother Austin decided to do some maths.
They have now discovered that their total age adds up to 1,117 years.
Austin Donnelly said the family has learnt a lot from each other over the years
"Somebody mentioned last week 'I wonder what all our ages are added up,'" Austin said.
"So I started to do some calculations, and I was shocked to discover there is over a thousand years between us.
"We've learnt a lot about life in those years. There are 14 of us getting the old age pension, but we don't feel like pensioners at all."
Good living
The family has yet to have the record verified by the Guinness Book of Records but believe they could be the oldest living siblings in the world.
So what is the secret of their longevity?
"Hard work, good living, no smoking or drinking," said Maureen.
Her brother Austin puts it down to the County Armagh air.
"That and the apple industry," he said.
"There are a couple of market gardeners in the family. We grew all our own food and we had our own cows for milk and hens for eggs in the early days."
Maureen McCaul, née Donnelly, said the secret to long life was good living
The family gathered in the Seagoe Hotel in Portadown to celebrate Maureen's birthday on Saturday.
Thoughts of becoming record holders were far from their minds.
"The family has never had any real difficulties," said Austin.
"We just work hard, mind our own business and help others as much as we can.
"That's a great recipe for how to live your life in the family and the wider community."
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the record for the oldest living siblings is currently held by the Tweed family from England.
The ages of the family of 12 add up to 1,020 years.
If confirmed, the Donnellys' total would beat that by 97 years.
