Daredevil great-grandma skydives at 100 years old

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain

Daredevil great-grandma, Irene O’Shea, is the embodiment of this quote, making global headlines for jumping out of a plane at 100 years young.

Keeping an active lifestyle is crucial to staying healthy while ageing, and to mark her 100^th birthday, Irene did just that – fulfilling her lifelong dream to skydive. The jump also raised thousands of dollars for Motor Neurone Disease Association of South Australia (MNDASA), in memory of her daughter, Shelagh who died of the disease in 2008.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, I thought this is a good opportunity to do it,” explained Irene.

“She suffered badly and if it hadn’t been for other people’s donations she wouldn’t have had it so easy, so it’s the only thing I can do to help other people. I’m hoping to raise a fair bit.”

Being the second oldest person across Australia to skydive, the great-grandmother of 11 has always been adventurous, having travelled the world by herself at 84 years old. And it doesn’t end here, Irene now wants to break the world record for the oldest person to skydive at 101 and is looking to raise more funds for MNDASA to continue with their research. She also hopes that with the spread of this story, it  will create increased awareness for the disease and attract more people to help support the research.

To learn more about motor neurone disease and what you can do to help, head here www.mndsa.org.au/Home.aspx

If you would like to sponsor Irene, click here. All funds raised go to Motor Neurone Disease research.

 

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