A WOMAN WHO was born in one of the three villages on Cork’s Dursey Island celebrated her 100th birthday this week.
Kathleen Harrington was born in Ballynacallagh in 1924, to parents John and Hannah Sullivan. She has survived her three older siblings, Joan, Jeremiah and Mary.
Kathleen’s daughter Liz said that though in good physical health, her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in recent years.
Liz added that her mother is content, and often speaks of Dursey Island, and her cherished childhood friend Ina who she grew up with there.
Dursey Island sits at the western tip of the Beara Peninsula in West Cork.
“When mum asks about someone, like her father, we will often tell them they are off up the field, or they will be back in time for dinner. She thinks she is on the island now, so it’s of comfort to her,” Liz said.
The family gathered together from far and wide to celebrate Kathleen’s birthday, with Cathy, the daughter of Kathleen’s late brother Jeremiah travelling all the way from America to mark the special occasion.
Kathleen first emigrated from Dursey Island after she finished school to work as a seamstress in England, making clothes for the Queen Mother’s cousins Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, who had intellectual disabilities and were committed to the Royal Earlswood institute.
The eldest sister was only two years older than Kathleen. The two sisters were kept a secret from the public (their deaths were faked) before the press ultimately discovered their existence in 1987.
It was widely thought that they were hidden away so the royal bloodline would not be associated with mental illness, or disability, due to the stigma surrounding these conditions at the time.
Before she left Dursey Island, Kathleen was already familiar with the fellow islander she would later marry, her childhood sweetheart Jim Causkey Harrington, who died in 1999.
Kathleen’s daughter Liz said managing money was the biggest shock for her mother when she got to England.
“They lived off the land in Dursey. You killed a pig, and shared it with your neighbours. There was no running water, no toilet, and no electricity, so it’s not like there were bills to pay. They walked everywhere. So using and saving money was one of the biggest challenges for my mum at first.
“It was her first foray into socialising in a more modern way, as well. She used to tell us that sometimes, when bands played on the pier of the mainland, she and the other islanders would dance on the pier of Dursey, listening to the music from across the water at night. That was their entertainment. On Sundays, they would take a boat to the mainland to go to mass. That was her experience of socialising as a girl, so Surrey was a big change,” Liz explained.
It was the death of Kathleen’s mother that caused her to return to Dursey Island, where she later married Jim, and had three children including Liz and her siblings Pauline and the late Fergus.
In 1959 Kathleen and Jim, who worked as a joiner, decided to move their family to the town of Blackburn in England, where she lives to this day.
Liz said that her mother’s Irish and Dursey heritage remained important to her, and that she brought her children back to the island a few years after their move to England.
“I was around three years old when we left, and six when we first visited again. I didn’t recognise the island, I was too young. We have remained in touch with relatives who live on the mainland near the Island, and I’ve brought my own children there since,” Liz said.
Kathleen received a letter from King Charles and the Queen Consort Camilla congratulating her on her 100th birthday, marking a full circle moment in her life, after her work with Queen Elizabeth II’s cousins.
Liz said that she believes her mother’s Island origins have had something to do with her reaching 100 years of age.
“She comes from sturdy stock, there is no doubt about that,” her daughter said.
“She has retained her sense of humour and her smile and the love for her family remains as strong as ever,” Liz added.
Dursey Island only has a few remaining inhabitants now, as it is mainly used for farming.
A cable car operates to and from the Island, and has become a major tourist attraction for West Cork. The buildings that once comprised the villages Kathleen grew up in can still be seen today, including the schoolhouse she attended.
The cable car is the only one that traverses open seawater in the whole of Europe, and the island is now frequented by birdwatchers, and those out to spot dolphins and whales in the waters surrounding Dursey.
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