ARRANMORE’S OLDEST CITIZEN Bridget Ward Gallagher says there’s no secret to reaching the age of 100, it’s “just good work and a bit of luck”.

Arranmore is an island located off the west coast of Donegal, with a population of around 478 people as of 2022. 

It is a Gaeltacht island located three miles from the mainland coast.

Speaking to The Journal ahead of her birthday, Bridget said: “I can hardly believe it myself. I am only the second person on the island to turn 100, so it is special.”

She has five children – John, Maureen, Theresa, Jim and Kathleen – along with seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, the youngest of whom will turn one next month. 

While her two sons live in Glasgow and one of her daughters lives in America, Bridget says it’s great to spend time with them when she can.

“My memory is not too bad, and I can still spend time with [my family] which is nice. I have one daughter with me all week and another who comes in at the weekend to do all my cooking,” she laughed.

“I can still walk a bit and I’ve got all my family around to help.”

Bridget spent a period of her life in Glasgow and moved back to the island in 1984.

She says it took her a while to settle back in, due to the change from city to rural life, when she moved home to Arranmore.

“The biggest change is that you can’t pop out to the shops like you can in Glasgow. You can’t do that as easily on Arranmore,” she said.

However, life on the island has changed in the past 100 years and Bridget says that it is much easier to live there nowadays. 

When she was growing up, they had to walk everywhere as there were no cars on the island and getting to the mainland was not as easy as it is today.

“Back then, you’d have to get a boat to the mainland and if it was raining you’d be soaked. We now have cars on the island and the ferry is very good with the times,” she said.

Theresa Walker Theresa Walker

Island life is quiet at the moment, but Bridget says that that will change when the tourists visit during the summer. 

Her advice to anyone who would like to visit Arranmore? “Come when there is good weather, you’ll see that you’ll get a good view.”

Celebrating in style 

Bridget attends Arranmore Day Centre two days a week, and the centre will be hosting a birthday party for her on Saturday, 17 January.

There is an open invite to everyone on the island to join in on the celebrations and Bridget says she is looking forward to it.

“Saturday will be a big day. That’s the big celebration. There will be some people I haven’t seen for a long time there and it will be lovely to see them all together,” she said.

She enjoys attending the centre every week as she gets to hear stories from other people, and the staff are “lovely”, she said.

“It’s just like having another family really.”

A video posted on social media earlier this week showed Bridget up and dancing with a group of people at the centre, already in preparation for the upcoming party. 

When asked if she will be up and dancing on Saturday, she laughed:

“I don’t think there was much dancing the other day. But I’ll try, it’s always good to give it a go.”