‘I don’t give a damn, honk away’: Is this 105-year-old Ireland’s oldest driver?

Hugh O’Neill is 105 and still drives himself to the shops. He takes his 2005 Citroën C5 to the Mount Merrion Friendship Club each week, usually at 25 miles per hour, while drivers behind him sound their horns.

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I haven’t a clue. It’s the luck of the game.

O’Neill, who was born on September 7th, 1921, says he is a better driver now than he was in his 20s. He believes drivers today need to be more aware of their surroundings because there is more traffic. His own approach is meticulous, even if it tests the patience of other motorists. “I’d like to have a sign printed on the back of my car: ‘I don’t give a damn, honk away,’” he said.

He lives alone in Mount Merrion, reads The Irish Times on his phone and uses glasses only for reading. He says he has the usual aches and pains of someone his age, but his humour remains intact. “I have such a quantity of accoutrements inside me that if I live long enough, I’ll be a robot,” he joked.

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I’m a better driver than I was when I was in my 20s.

O’Neill’s wife, Diane, died in 2009 after 58 years of marriage. She had been evacuated from England as a child during the Blitz and later lived in Ireland. O’Neill says he still misses her and does not recommend living alone after losing someone he remains in love with.

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I don’t give a damn, honk away.

The Friendship Club gives him a regular social outlet, though he points out that he is the oldest member by a wide margin. He says luck is the main explanation for his long life. He also identifies a healthy childhood on a farm in Lisronagh, south Tipperary, where he ate well and exercised, as a possible factor. He recalls running barefoot and describes his childhood as idyllic.

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It’s not so much living on your own, but it’s the loss of someone you are still in love with.