Skydiving granny, 100, makes history with daring jump
A 100-year-old great-grandmother has made history becoming the oldest person to skydive in South Australia.
It's been a lifelong dream for Irene O'Shea, with the jump also raising thousands of dollars for Motor Neurone disease research.
The sky's the limit for this 100-year-old.
She said: “I'm feeling great, I’m a bit excited.”
Irene is celebrating the milestone and she is also is the second oldest across the country to complete such a daring act.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, I thought this a good opportunity to do it,” she said.
Instructor Jed Smith said: “For a 100-year-old to jump out of a plane and have the confidence to do it I think is fantastic so I think it should be a really special occasion.”
The great-grandmother of 11 has always been the adventurous type having travelling the world by herself.
She added: “I have been up in a glider which I enjoyed very much.”
But Irene's also skydived for a cause close to her heart.
Her daughter Shelagh died from Motor Neurone disease in 2008.
“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.”
Donations instead of gifts were the order when she recently celebrated with family and friends.
So far she's raised more than $4000 and at 100-years-old Irene is showing she's still on top of the world.
For more information on donating to click here.
