At 102 years old, Redmond O’Hanlon was quite possibly the oldest man in County Armagh.
A few weeks ago he was admitted to hospital. Whilst he was there, the doctor’s got a surprise… there were no records under his name. That was because – apart from a visit to the doctor over twenty years ago when he was suffering from food poisoning – remarkably, Redmond had never been admitted to hospital.
According to his grandson – Mickey O’Hanlon – Redmond, “didn’t take the flu jabs, he didn’t take the covid jabs, he didn’t bother with any of that.” He had never been diagnosed with a serious health condition and had never had surgery.
In fact, avoiding the doctor was something which Redmond claimed contributed to his longevity, commonly asserting: “Keep away from the doctors as long as you can and you’ll live longer.”
Controversially, Redmond also wasn’t a strong believer in healthy eating. “All his life he fried [his food] in lard”, Mickey states. “He took four sugars in his cup of tea and he took four or five cups of tea a day. Anything you weren’t meant to do, he did it.”
Speaking to one of the nurses while he was in hospital Redmond said: “I’m 102, I don’t know how I let this happen, I was never in hospital before.” The nurse replied, “sure you would’ve been here about 102 years ago”, and Redmond said: “I wasn’t, I was born in the house!” “He was very quick with an answer” Mickey said, “he was very witty.”
Sadly, on August 4, Redmond passed away surrounded by his family. “It was a bit of a shock at the end of the day” explained Mickey, “the longer you have somebody, the more you get attached to them.”
Redmond was born on May 4, 1923 to John Joseph O’Hanlon and Elizabeth O’Hanlon. He was one of six children.
He went to St. Terese’s Primary School in Tullyherron and, following this, attended the Abbey CBS in Newry.
After graduating from the Abbey, Redmond tried his hand at a wide variety of different jobs, working as a farmer, a mill worker, and a Justice of the Peace. As Mickey states, “he was a jack of all trades.”
After years of courting, Redmond married the love of his life, Anne Nugent. Anne owned Nugent’s Pub and Post Office in Whitecross, and the marriage resulted in Redmond adding two new jobs to his repertoire… barman and postman.
Anne and Redmond had six children together. However, in 1973 Anne tragically passed away. This was a difficult time for Redmond. Yet, with the help of his family and friends, he persevered.
When, in 1978, Mickey’s mother passed away, Redmond took him in and raised him like a son.
Being the local publican, Redmond was an active member of his local community. At one time he was the main sponsor of the St. Killian’s Whitecross GAA team, and players and fans alike would regularly retire to his pub after a game.
Throughout his life, one of the things Redmond most enjoyed doing was visiting the Newry market where he would catch-up with many of his friends. He was a regular attendee at the Dominican chapel in Newry on Sundays, and most looked forward to the annual Christmas midnight mass.
Until his late 90s Redmond drove his own car and, as Mickey explains “until he was 94 or 95 he would’ve still given you a hand with something.”
A quiet, unassuming man of few words, Redmond left an enduring mark on his local community. Reflecting on his 102 years, Mickey says: “He was very good-natured… when you thing back about everything he did, you wonder how he had time to do anything.”
