'Happy home' secret to long life, says Carrick centenarian

Olive Clarke celebrated her 100th birthday on May 5, with a card from Her Majesty the Queen to mark the occasion.

The former teacher was born and raised in Carrickfergus, living on the Larne Road with her parents and brother, George.

"I went to the Model School and Whitehead High," she said. "During the war, I taught in Dungannon.

"When my brother was lost in the Air Force in 1943, I came home to keep my mother company.

"I remember hiding under the stairs with my mother when an air raid passed over on its way to Belfast."

Miss Clarke returned to Whitehead High School for much of her teaching career, later taking up a post at Larne Grammar.

She assisted the Girls Brigade and served as Lady Captain at Carrickfergus Golf Club and in her retirement, developed an interest in reading, drawing and painting.

The local woman lived through a period of rapid expansion in the town, much of it brought on by the arrival of new businesses in the postwar years. "I remember Courtaulds coming; lots of their managers lived opposite us."

Meanwhile, some familiar local names can be found in the centenarian's family tree.

Ship builder Paul Rodgers was Miss Clarke's great-grandfather, while her aunt was Mary Johnstone Lynn, an eminent botanist at Queen's University Belfast who herself lived until the age of 103.

Although the current public health situation has curtailed birthday celebrations for the time being, Miss Clarke is looking forward to marking the milestone with family and friends once restrictions have been lifted.

And as to the secret of her longevity? "I had a very happy home life, growing up in Carrickfergus."

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