Rosaleen praises family on her 100th birthday

Rosaleen praises family on her 100th birthday

5 May 2021

BORN the day before Northern Ireland came into being 100 years ago, Rosaleen Rogan celebrated her centenary in style on Sunday.

The long and happy life of the devoted parishioner was celebrated at Holy Family Church in Teconnaught with a special Mass dedicated to her by the parish priest, Father Brendan Smyth.

The mother-of-five, grandmother to 15 and great-grandmother to 22 was greeted by her family and friends staggered throughout the day after the service and at home.

Said by her family to “still buzzing” on Monday, Mrs Rogan was overwhelmed by the amount of cards, flowers and Mass bouquets given to her to mark her momentous day.

As May 3 in 1921 was recently decreed as the day Northern Ireland was constituted, Mrs Rogan, who lives with her daughter, Mrs Stella Rea in Magheralone, is one of the last surviving Irish-born citizens in Northern Ireland.

Her 100th birthday was recognised by both states with a card from the Queen and a letter from Irish President Michael D Higgins along with a cheque for £2,177.

Mrs Rogan was also very touched to have been sent a Papal blessing, which was a gift from the parish organised by Fr Smyth, and a letter of congratulations from the Lord Lieutenant of Down, Mr David Lindsay. 

She was also delighted to receive a visit from family friend and former South Down MP, Baroness Margaret Ritchie who helped the family mark the birthday.

Mrs Rogan, who hails from Annacloy, was also joined on Sunday by her two surviving brothers, Joe and Maurice McGrath, with their wives and her sister Marie at the Mass.

She is the widow of the late Joe Rogan, a well-known shoemaker and repairer in Drumaness, and often helped him with stitching jobs in the business over the years.

The couple shared a devotion to their faith and celebrated 50 years of marriage on September 1998. Sadly, Mr Rogan died the following March.

They had five children — Mary Joe, Magdalene, Joe, Imelda and Stella. Her son, Joe, is well-known in Castlewellan for running his former business, JR’s shop and she joined him last month to celebrate his retirement. 

Before she was married, Mrs Rogan worked in service and looked after children at several homes in Belfast and Bangor, but when the Second World War broke out she returned home to help out on the family farm.

Mrs Rogan met her husband through attending parish activities in the mid 1940s. They married in September 29, 1948, and started their long life together, living in Magheralone and the Four Roads in Drumaness.

When asked how she accounts for her long life, Mrs Rogan replied: “Hard work, good company and a loving family. It was all down to the Lord, it was nothing that I did.”

One of the highlights of her life was when she was honoured in September 2017, by being invited to Knock Shrine 

as a special guest of honour to meet the new Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo.

Mrs Rogan was selected as someone who dedicated her life to prayer. She and her daughters, Mary Joe Walker, Imelda Savage and Stella Rea, marked the annual pilgrimage to Knock as one of the most important dates in the year. She was also presented with a certificate during Mass as the oldest grandparent there that day.

Mrs Rogan is a famed seamstress and her family say that there is nothing she can’t turn her hand to, and she’s still sought out to help them with the odd stitching job. 

Mrs Rea adds: “If there’s a particularly difficult tear, the saying usually is you may ask Granny Rogan. She also took up knitting again during the lockdown and knits squares for prayer blankets.

“Mummy used to go to the 

local bingo many many years ago with her friends and neighbours but still enjoys a game with family around the kitchen table. 

“Every Easter she joins the grandchildren and great grandchildren painting the eggs to get ready for rolling.”

Mrs Rogan loved working outdoors and was a keen gardener. Today she enjoys the lively company of her great-grandchildren and has also got comfortable with technology, video-calling other family members who are not at home and watching Mass at Holy Family Church online. 

Her family hope to have her attending Mass every Sunday as soon as possible.