Killarney

<h3>By Michelle Crean&nbsp;
One of Ireland&#8217;s oldest men &#8211; who would have celebrated his 109th birthday this October&nbsp;&#8211; has sadly passed away this morning (Sunday).</h3>
Michael J O&#8217;Connor who&nbsp;lived in Muckross for over 40 years&nbsp;passed away in Kenmare Community Hospital.
Michael was born in Glencar in 1913 and wasn&#8217;t expected to live past the age of six after contracting the Spanish Flu. He&nbsp;also lived through the War of Independence, the Civil War, World War One and Two.
Michael, who worked at sea and then went onto a career in aviation, also remembers the only mode of transport being a horse and cart to get from his home place to Killarney for shopping &#8211; to later in life experiencing the contrast with two trips on a Concord to New York.
Michael also went from using the social media of the day &#8211; Morse code &#8211; in his early career, to later learning to how to send text messages.
&#8220;I was born in Glencar to Daniel and Bridie, I travelled the world for five years, three in the last war,&#8221; Michael previously told the Killarney Advertiser.&nbsp;
&#8220;I then changed to aviation in the early &#8217;40s and stayed in aviation for the rest of my life based in Ballygreen between Shannon and Ennis.&#8221;
Michael came to Killarney in 1980 with his wife Joan, who died in 2008.
&#8220;I built a holiday home up the side of a mountain a few years before I retired. Then, when I retired, I sold the house in Limerick and have been here ever since. There&#8217;s no nicer place in the world &#8211; and I&#8217;ve been around most of it!&#8221;
He was driving up until the age of 104&nbsp;and had&nbsp;put&nbsp;his longevity down to a daily glass of whiskey.

Killarney's Michael J O'Connor has died aged 108

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