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12th Oct 2017

The oldest family in the world shares their secret to living longer

And they're Irish.

Laura Holland

oldest family

The Irish family were recognised by the Guinness World Records.

Earlier this year, the Donnelly family from Co. Armagh were awarded the Guinness World Record for being the oldest family in the world. The results were based on their combined age.

Between the 13 of them, they have just under 1,200. The 13 brothers and sisters are Sean (93), Maureen (92), Eileen (90), Peter (87), Mairead (86), Rose (85), Tony (83), Terry (81), Seamus (80), Brian (76), Kathleen (75), Colm (73) and Leo (72).

Hailing from Moy, the family have now offered up their theory as to why they have all lived so long and it’s down to one thing – porridge.

The Donnellys attribute their longevity in part to eating porridge twice a day, citing Flahavan’s as their favourite brand. 

 According to 72 -year-old Leo, “The key to it is having a bowl of porridge twice a day. We’ve always followed Daddy’s habit of that nice warm bite before sleep. Porridge at around 10pm, and then again for breakfast at 7am– that’s our secret!”

Now that Flahavan’s have found the oldest family who enjoy a bowl (or two), they want to find the country’s biggest fan. Full details are available on their Facebook page.

Topics:

Family