Cork's Pearl Gleeson still ‘a social butterfly’ at 101

She may be 101, but Pearl Gleeson doesn’t live in any of the ‘blue zones’ noted for longevity - like Okinawa, Japan, or Costa Rica. She lives in West Cork with her daughter Evelyn and Evelyn’s husband, Aiden.

“Mum is amazing;” says Evelyn. “She was driving up until she was 94!”

Pearl, whose maiden name was Hennessy, was doing lots of other things as well. Among them was performing in the Cork Opera House in the Cinderella panto when she was younger.

“She always loved singing and dancing,” says Evelyn.

Pearl, from Cork, who lived in the UK for over 60 years after she got married, still full of the joys of life, has all the ingredients to live to a ripe old age.

“Mum went to the College of Commerce, and she studied music at the Cork School of Music,” Evelyn says.

Pearl is the life and the soul of the party.

“She sang at both her 100th birthday and her 101st birthday,” says Evelyn.

“Her voice is as good as ever. As good as her younger days performing at the Opera House!”

Pearl always likes to look the part.

“She always loved her glamour, and she likes nothing better than a day out looking at the shops and having coffee and pancakes.”

There is nothing better than meeting and marrying the love of your life.

“Mum and dad met at a dance at one of Cork’s ballrooms, probably the Arcadia,” says Evelyn.

Pearl Hennessy and Tommy Gleeson had a lot in common.

“Dad loved dancing,” says Pearl. “We say he danced his way to heaven!”#

True Corkonians 

The couple were true Corkonians.

“Mum and dad loved going to the Cork dinner dance every year in Camden Town, London. Dad went to the UK for work and mum went back and forth from Cork to join him at weekends before she went to live in the UK. Mum and dad went everywhere together. They lived a full and happy life.”

Pearl enjoyed luck, love, laughter, and good fortune at her home in Wanstead, London.

“Mum was a hard worker,” says Pearl. “She had a great career in London. She worked part-time at an employment agency doing interviews; then worked for Ernest and Young.”

Pearl was popular too.

“In all the jobs she was in, she never fell out with anybody,” says Evelyn.

“She was always a very social person, and everyone liked her. We used to travel to work together on the tube to the West End.”

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“I worked in HSBC Midland Bank for 30 years,” says Evelyn.

“Going to work, mum and I always chatted. She could never understand things like stress or depression. She didn’t know what they meant.”

The all-singing, all dancing sociable lady does have some vices.

“At 9pm at night she can open a box of chocolates and eat the whole lot, and never suffer from heartburn!”

Pearl liked the gee-gees, and still does. “She follows all the jockeys, and she was at the races in Killarney in August!” says Evelyn.

“When they lived in England, mum and dad loved going to race meetings together, to Ascot and Newmarket. It was one of the things they loved to do. Mum often had a flutter and won a few bob.”

Pearl got the royal treatment.

“Mum was treated like a VIP,” says Evelyn. “When the Queen wasn’t present, the car park attendant gave mum her parking space!”

Pearl and Tommy loved both their girls.

“Sadly, my sister, Virginia, died from Leukemia 10 years ago,” says Evelyn.

When it came to Pearl’s love of singing and dancing, did any of of the girls follow in their parents’ footsteps?

“We didn’t have a note in our heads!” says Evelyn.

“Though I can dance! We had a piano at home in Wanstead so there was always lots of singing and dancing. Dad could sing and mum’s voice is as good as ever.”

Pearl has a good outlook on life, and she knows what’s good for her.

“She likes good food, and she’ll eat an avocado every day,” says Evelyn.

Pearl cheers people up.

“She’s an amazing lady,” says Evelyn.

“People admire her and say that when they meet her, they feel better and that she cheers them up.”

Pearl is interested in the people around her.

“She has a special relationship with her great-granddaughter Kiya, who is nine. When her great-grandson got engaged, she joined in the celebrations.”

Was Pearl ever sick or knocked out for any reason?

“When she suffered from arthritis 30 years ago, the doctor, when he saw her X-rays, said she would need to use a wheelchair,” says Evelyn.

Pearl was determined to keep going under her own steam.

“Her determination kept her going,” says Evelyn.

“It is only in the last two years that mum uses a wheelchair.

“We have e vehicle to accommodate her wheelchair. She can wheel the chair in the back and be chauffeured to wherever she wants to go.

“If she wants to sit in the front, we have a swivel chair for her.”

A social butterfly

Where does Pearl like to go?

“Mum loves people-watching,” says Evelyn.

“She is like a social butterfly!”

Pearl likes getting around.

“She loves going to Adare Manor. In her 80s, she travelled to Rome, Paris, Spain, and Poland.”

Pearl befriends lots of people.

“Her doctor in the UK came to see her,” says Evelyn.

Dr Bhomick isn’t only an esteemed doctor.

“He has a knighthood!” Evelyn says.

He thinks highly of Pearl.

“He said, out of 3,000 patients, mum had the best outlook!” says Evelyn.

Pearl knows her own mind.

“Last June, we decided mum might need hearing aids,” says Evelyn. “She said; there’s no need to shout at me; I’ve got hearing aids!

“Mum never really drank. Now if we go out to dinner she asks; ‘where’s my glass of wine?’”

Pearl likes to be reminded of things that make her happy.

“We brought her car back from the UK,” says Evelyn.

“She calls it ‘my dodge’, and she looks at it every day. Dad didn’t drive and mum drove from Fishguard to the boat in Rosslare many times.”

Pearl, at 101, always had a good sense of humour.

“She and my husband get on very well,” says Evelyn.

“He says, ‘you’re having wine; I’m going for a pint’ - and she gets a fit of laughing!”

At 101, there’s no stopping Pearl.

“She’s off to a bowling dinner in November,” says Evelyn. “And she’s going to see country singer Mike English in Rosscarbery.”

Pearl Gleeson never needed to go to any of the ‘blue zones’ noted for longevity.

She’s quite at home in West Cork, complete with her wonderful joie de vivre.