Reaching the age of 100 is no mean feat but one East Belfast woman did just that as she celebrated with her family at Kirk House.
Born in Sunderland in 1923, the eldest child to Ralph and Margaret Snowball. Eileen Coyle's father was a boiler maker who worked on the docks but when she was around 7 years old, work in Sunderland was drying up and so he came to Belfast to look for work.
After securing a job here he brought his wife and two daughters over to live and they moved in to a house in Hillfoot Street.
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"They weren't that long in Belfast when their first wee brother, Freddie, came along, closely followed by Frank and Harry, making them then a family with five children," her daughter-in-law Alison told Belfast Live.
"As a result of the family expanding they moved house a few times until they came to live in 59 Victoria Avenue.
"She was very involved in Sydenham Methodist Church from her early years, going to the CE, attending Sunday School and even singing solos in the Junior Choir.
"Eileen attended Strand Primary School until she was 14 and she told us she finished school on the Friday and started work on the Monday in Jenkins of Bedford Street where she worked as a tamborer."
It was on her way to work one morning as she waited for the bus aged just 15, that she first noticed a young man cycling past every morning going to his work. This turned out to be Billy Coyle, who she would later go on to marry.
"He took a few weeks to get the courage up to stop and chat to Eileen and eventually ask her out on a date," Alison said.
"Billy worked in Short Brothers and Harland. They married in 1943 when Eileen was just 20 years old.
"At the time they married Billy was only earning £4 a week and so they lived in lodgings in Bathgate Street, off the Belmont Road with Mrs Milligan until 1949, when they outgrew her back bedroom as they had a family of their own by then."
In 1945 Eileen gave birth to her first son, Ralph, but sadly Ralph's life was to be short as he passed away aged just a few months old.
"Eileen and Billy had three other sons Alan, David and much later Stephen," Alison continued.
"In 1949 they bought their house in Victoria Avenue, just a few doors down from her mother and Freddie and that is where Eileen lived right until December 2019.
"Eileen and Billy were both very involved in Sydenham Methodist Church in later life too as she enjoyed the Ladies Bowls, The Young Wives, The MWA and latterly the Seniors."
Unfortunately in 1970 tragedy struck yet again in Eileen's life when her son David passed away very suddenly aged just 20.
"She often admitted that this was one of the hardest times in her life," Alison said.
"After Billy's retirement Eileen and he spent a lot of time holidaying abroad, sometimes for 6 or 8 weeks at a time in the Winter and then most of the Summer was spent at their beautiful caravan in Groomsport.
"Sadly it was in that beautiful caravan that Eileen spent her last moments with Billy as that is where he passed away very unexpectedly."
Alison believes Eileen's busy social life and her trips away with friends are what helped keep her young.
"Up until 2019, Eileen attended church twice on Sundays, St Marks Church for their Seniors group and on Mondays she and her late friend Betty could be found on the bus to Ballyclare every week for their dancing club.
"Of course let's not forget her wee trips around Northern Ireland on the bus and train network with her free bus pass," Alison laughed.
"She got great joy out of it and used to just get on the train at Sydenham, drop in to Central or Europa Stations and go wherever the next train or bus was going to for the day."
In December 2019, she was no longer able to live alone and moved in to Kirk House just before the pandemic struck.
"Sadly the lack of socialising during coronavirus had a big impact on her social skills and she became less communicative but nevertheless still very content and happy.
"She is being so well cared for in Kirk House and the family will never be able to thank them enough, especially for all the effort they have put in to her 100th birthday celebrations in 2023.
"Eileen has two sons, three grandsons, a granddaughter and seven great grandchildren aged from 16 to a few weeks old, who are all so thankful for the wonderful woman she has been to them," Alison finished.
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