Ireland is one of the fastest ageing countries in Europe. A recent reminder of this came with figures for the number of centenarians in the country. While 2016 census data noted 456 people were aged 100 or older, more recent reports indicate the number of centenarians had grown to more than 1,000 in 2025. A number of them spoke about their experience of living through a century to coincide with the publication of the 1926 census by the National Archives.

Longevity research is one of the most rapidly growing areas in science. Because the world is rapidly ageing, ageing matters more. We have finally made great strides in understanding the biology of ageing. All of this is coupled with huge investment chasing the idea of longer, healthier lives. Ireland has similarly invested in ageing research in particular in Tilda, the Irish Longitudinal study on Ageing.

Biological ageing is how ourselves and tissues and systems actually wear, adapt and renew as the years pass. It’s distinct from chronological age, which is the number of candles on our birthday cake. Two people can both be 50 yet have very different biological ages depending on genetics, lifestyle, disease exposure and sometimes sheer luck.

Biological age is often described as a smooth, continuous decline, but that’s a comforting fiction – biological ageing is more like a staircase with suspiciously placed landings around ages 30, 50 and 70.

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