CELEBRATIONS stretched across the Irish Sea this month as a popular Mayo man marked his 100th birthday at home in Liverpool.
Members of the city’s thriving Irish community were on hand to help Micheal Joe Cresham celebrate his big day.
Born in Waterford, Hollymount, Mr Cresham left Mayo in the 1950s and moved to Norris Green in Liverpool, where his brother Jack had gone before him.
He settled there and went on to raise two children with his late wife Betty, a Liverpool native whom he met at the Shamrock Club on Lime Street in 1957.
The couple got engaged at Christmas 1957 and married soon after in February 1958
Since then Mr Cresham has been at the centre of life among the Irish community in the city, where he wears his Mayo roots with pride and celebrates the best of Ireland away from home.
Micheal Joe Cresham, centre, pictured at his 100th birthday celebrationsEarlier this month it was the turn of his family, friends, and neighbours to celebrate him – and they gathered in large numbers at Our Lady’s Catholic Club in Norris Green for his 100th birthday party.
Many travelled from Mayo, Dublin, and Nottingham too, to be part of the celebrations, which continued late into the night and even featured Ms Cresham taking to the microphone to sing some of his favourite Irish songs.
“Micheal Joe has been a constant throughout our lives, never forgetting his friends and family back in Ireland,” JJ Feerick and family, who made the journey from Mayo and Dublin to attend the party, said.
“Every year he made the journey home and always took time to be with us, all his relations, including the McGraths, Wards and Mc Loughlins.
“We are so proud to celebrate this day with him.”
Family friend, Professor Maggie O’Carroll, a fellow Mayo native who also now lives in Liverpool, said Mr Cresham was a “very good school friend” to her late mother, Peggy O’Carroll.
“I remember her fond stories of their friendship, and of the many evenings when Micheal and his family would return home to Ballyglass,” she said.
“They would gather in Ward’s for a few whiskies and he would always give a fine rendition of Noreen Bawn.
“For me, Micheal Joe exemplifies the best of our community, loyalty, warmth, and a deep love of his roots.”
Cillian O’Kelly, Ireland’s Consul General in Manchester, serving the North of England, also sent a message of congratulations to the centenarian.
“We send our very best wishes to Micheal Joe on this very special occasion and acknowledge his fantastic contribution to the Irish community here in Britain,” he said.
“Micheal Joe’s centenary is a moment of joy not only for his family, but for the wider Irish diaspora in Britain.
“His life and legacy stand as a testament to the strength, resilience, and warmth of the Irish in Liverpool.”