The first Age Friendly programme in Ireland was established in Co Louth in 2008.
Indeed it was the older people from Co Louth who helped devise and develop the age friendly programme in the county that has now been rolled out to all 31 Local authorities in Ireland.
The Louth OPC is the building block on which the Age Friendly Programme is built. The new OPC was established in March 2023 and replaced the Older People’s Forum which had been in place since the inception of the Age Friendly Programme in 2008. The OPC is supported by the Age Friendly Programme Manager and together with the Age Friendly Alliance help to deliver on the goals, objectives and actions contained with the Age Friendly Strategy.
In September 2022 the Louth Age Friendly Programme hosted their first major event after the pandemic. The purpose of the event was to provide free creative workshops for older people such as painting, pottery, flower arranging, creative writing , an holistic workshop and a dance workshop. The event was an opportunity social engagement and creative engagement and up to 150 older people from all over County Louth took part in the event.
The Age Friendly Programme held a number of Open Days across Co Louth in 2022/2023 to raise awareness of the Age Friendly Programme and to invite older people and their representatives to get involved with the programme by becoming a member of the wider OPC or by joining the executive committee. Information and training on the function and purpose of the OPC was provided to members and by early 2023 a new wider OPC had been established with a new OPC executive committee also in place.
Members of the Alliance and the OPC recently took part in a number of focus groups as part of the LECP public consultations.
It was an opportunity for older people to have their say on how community development and specifically issues and matters that affect older people and age friendly initiatives should be planned and developed in Co Louth over the next 6 years. Following the public consultations members of the OPC & Alliance prepared a submission for the LECP on the issues that are of interest and concern to them in relation to Age Friendly.
The Older People’s Council National Conference took place from 10th -12th May 2023 in Tralee, Co Kerry.
Joe Grogan Chair of the Louth (OPC) Older People’s Council and Harry Mc Carthy member of the Louth Older People’s Executive Committee represented Co Louth and attended the Older Peoples Council Conference in Tralee, Co Kerry with members of the Louth Age Friendly team.
