Christmas Day 90th birthday celebrations for widely popular Mayo twins
Mayo twins - Tommy Clarke, Ballina, and Kathleen O'Brien, Ruislip, London - are celebrating their 90th birthdays today (Christmas Day).
Their families abd wide circle of friends are getting together for a wonderful celebration on Saturday night next, December 28, with many travelling from overseas.
Over 200 people have already confirmed that they will join the party for these very special twins.
Between the two families alone, there are five siblings, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Tommy and Kathleen still have an older sister Martina, Ballina, who is aged 93, and a younger sister, Carmel, who is at 87.
Longevity is obviously in the family genes!
Tommy and Kathleen were born at home, on Christmas Day, 1934, to Bridget and Michael Clarke, in a little terraced house in Ballina, an outbreak of TB forcing the closure of the local hospital at the time..
Tommy is still driving and he enjoys a pint at the weekend with the 'boys' who are all much younger than him in their seventies.
He has a keen interest in Gaelic football and hurling. He also likes to watch Burnley FC games as that was the town to which he emigrated in the late 1950s.
He came back to Mayo in 1978 with his lovely family.
He met and fell in love with his wife, Margaret, a native of Bonniconlon, on a bus going to a dance in Leeds in 1960.
He worked as a machine driver for many years in Ballina before finishing out his working life in Duffy's Bakery and driving a school bus.
He is still known and loved by many grown-ups who remember him as their lovely bus driver going to school.
Tommy is somewhat of a legend in Ballina and he is a very strong man with a great love of life.
He has faced many challenges over the years particularly since losing his beloved Margaret in 2020.
She died suddenly and, seven months later, he lost his son Kevin to Covid 19 in April 2021. Kevin was only 56.
But he soldiers on and remains positive., enjoying country music, family events and travels regularly over to England to visit his twin Kathleen and other sister Carmel in Burnley.
Kathleen (Kate) is an absolute lady. She met, fell in love and married a jolly Dublin man, Jimmy O Brien, after emigrating in the late 1950s.
Kate travelled extensively throughout Europe in the early years of her marriage as an army wife with her Husband before they settled back in London.
They had three beautiful children, Susan, James and Eddie. Kate worked in Marks and Spencers for many years until her retirement and she still meets her former workmates for coffee regularly.
She walks to the shops everyday and still loves to travel extensively to Ireland and Europe with family.
All of their friends in Mayo and England wish them health and happiness on their 90th birthday and hope they very much enjoy Saturday's celebrations.