Today marks a very special day for Jack Powell who celebrates his 100th birthday. He is the third member of his family to reach this milestone birthday. His mother turned 100 in 1970 and his brother turned 100 in May 2012. Originally from Gurtagarry, Toomevara, Jack now resides in Ballinaclough.
Jack has seen many changes in his years growing up in Tipperary. He has witnessed the struggle for Independence, the horrors of the Civil War, the Emergency in Ireland, the Economic War as well as countless other national and local historical events of the past century.
Jack was born on 29 May 1913 in Blane, Toomevara. He was educated at first in Toomevara NS, where he says he developed a love of the Irish language; he completed a year in Ballymackey Church of Ireland Diocesan School before concluding his second level education at a boarding school in Sligo. He completed his veterinary training in Ballsbridge, Dublin, graduating in 1936 and moved to England. In 1937 he took a post with the British Ministry for Agriculture during the Foot and Mouth epidemic. In 1943 Jack married his late wife Sheila, it was also the year in which he volunteered for the RAF. He trained in Canada and was then sent back to the UK to train pilots. In 1947 Jack returned to Ireland and settled in Nenagh where he established a practise in Summerhill which grew quickly.
Jack is renowned for being a great Horse man, dealing with difficult horses and turning them around as well as having a great memory for Pedigree. In 2011 Jack was honoured as being the Longest Graduated Vet in the country by being presented with a Gold Medal by President Mary McAleese.
Jack said he ‘feels very lucky and very proud to have seen and witnessed so much in his life’.
So Happy 100th Birthday Jack from all the Team at Nenagh.ie
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