Each Age Friendly City or County initiative establishes a local Older People’s Council, as an early first step. The Council is open to all older people and their organisations to join. It is developed through the public consultations that are carried out with older people at town and village level.
The purpose of the Older People’s Councils is to ensure that the voice of the older person is heard loud and clear at the Alliance table. The Older People’s Councils will often generate ideas for innovative and creative age friendly projects, tackling a range of issues from isolation and loneliness to fitness and active ageing.
The aim of the Louth Older People’s Forum is to represent the voice of older people and work as partners with the Age Friendly Alliance to identify ways to improve the quality of life for older people in County Louth. The LOPF is made up of Older People’s Groups, Advocacy Groups, Nursing Homes, Day Care Centres and individuals. There are 230 people registered with the Forum with a working executive of 26. The Executive is elected for a 2 year period.
Mary Deery CDB Secretariat County Hall t 042 9324389 e mary.deery@louthcoco.ie
Download Registration Form Here
In February 2014 at a meeting of the Louth Older Peoples Forum a new executive forum was elected. Ann Ward was elected as Chair with Kath Briggs elected as Vice-Chair and Michael McCoy elected as secretary. Groups represented on the forum are as follows:
| Mary Dunne | Ardee Active Retirement |
| Marie Hayes | Citizens Information |
| Pearse O’Hanrahan | |
| Charlie McCarron | Garda Active Retired Association |
| Luke Martin | Dundalk Social Services |
| Ann Egan | Age Action |
| Michael Kelly | Kilkerley Young at Heart |
| Paddy McMahon | GAA |
| Harry McCarthy | Cooley Active Retirement |
| John Matthews | St Oliver Plunkett Support Group |
| Valene McMullen | Irish Wheelchair Association |
| Joan McEvoy / Michael Clarke | Drogheda & District Support 4 Older People |
| Pat Kerins | Nestling Project |
| Ann Marron | Nestling Project |
| Ann Murphy | Good Morning Louth |
| Ann Ward | Various Groups |
| Brendan Crawley | Faughart Social Group |
| Michael McCoy | Moorehall Lodge, Ardee |
| Shane Kelly | Sunhill Nursing Home |
| Kevin Doyle | |
| Maeve Montgomery | Alzheimer Day Care |
| Olive Joyce | The Birches, Dundalk |
| Michael Rice | St Vincent de Paul |
| Andrea Connolly | Cuidigh Linn |
| Pauline Connor / William Woods | Drogheda Senior Citizens |
| Eva Beirne | Mens Sheds |
| Kath Briggs | Drogheda Senior Citizens |
Details of membership of the forum are as follows:
| Name | Location | Meeting Times |
|---|---|---|
| Dundalk Active Retirement | Carroll Meade, Dundalk | Every Monday from 2.30p.m.-4.30p.m. |
| Lannleire & District Active Retired Association | The Pavillion, Shamrock Hill, Dunleer | Every Tuesday from 2.00p.m.-4.30p.m. |
| Kilkerley ICA | Kilkerley Community Centre | Every 2nd Wednesday 8.00p.m.-10.00p.m. |
| Kilkerley Young at Heart | Kilkerley Community Centre | Every 2nd Thursday 6.30p.m-8.30p.m |
| Kilkerley Development Group | Kilkerley Community Centre | Dance every Sunday 9.30p.m.-12.30p.m. |
| Indoor Bowls Wednesday 7.45p.m.-10.00p.m | ||
| Badminton Tuesday 8.00p.m.- 10.00p.m. | ||
| Aerobics Thursday 7.00p.m.-8.00p.m. | ||
| Redeemer Young at Heart | Redeemer Community Centre | Every Wednesday 2.00p.m.-4.00p.m. |
| Cooley Active Retirement Group | Cooley Sports Complex | Every Thursday 2.30p.m.-4.30p.m. |
| Cooley Parochial Hall | Bowling every Thursday 2.30p.m.-5.00p.m. | |
| Cooley Parochial Hall | Bingo every Wednesday 8.30p.m.-10.30p.m. | |
| Clogherhead and Callystown Leisure Time Group | Community Hall Clogherhead | Every 2nd Tuesday 2.00p.m.- 4.30p.m. |
| Indoor Bowls Thursday 2.30p.m.-4.30p.m | ||
| Bingo every Monday 8.30p.m.-10.30p.m. | ||
| Ardee Active Retirement | Ferdia House | Every Thursday 7.00p.m. |
| Drogheda District Support 4 Older People www.dds4op.com |
Haymarket, Drogheda | Monday and Friday 10.00a.m. to 1.00 pm. and Tuesday to Thursday 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. |
| Great Northern Haven | Barrack Street, Dundalk | |
| Drogheda Senior Citizens | Unit 7, West Street Arcade, West Street, Drogheda |
|
| Dundalk Widows Association | 30 Hawthorn Crescent, Bay Estate Dundalk |
|
| Medical Missionaries of Mary | Beechgrove, Drogheda | |
| Omeath & District Active Retirement | c/o Taranaki”, Greenore Road, Carlingford |
|
| Comfort Keepers | Bridge Street, Ardee | |
| Servisource Healthcare | Quayside Business Park, Mill Street, Dundalk | |
| Myhomecare.ie | Mill Street, Dundalk | |
| Ferrard Day Centre | Community Hall, Chapel Road, Clogherhead | |
| Older Women’s Network (Ireland) | Senior House, All Hallows College, Gracepark Road, Drumcondra Dublin 9 | |
| 50+ Active Relaxation Group | Drogheda & District Support 4 Older People, Unit 7, Haymarket, Drogheda | |
| Drogheda Community Services | Scarlet Crescent, Drogheda | |
| Faughart Social Group | Kilcurry Resource Centre, Kilcurry, Dundalk | |
| Dundalk Railway Heritage Group | Men’s Sheds, Seatown Dundalk |
|
| Nestling Project (Mens Groups) | Barrack Street, Dundalk | Choir: Every Monday 12.00p.m.-1.00p.m.Every Tuesday: Men’s Groups 11.00a.m. -12.30p.m. 2.30p.m. – 4.00p.m.Day trips every 6 weeks |
| Nestling Project (Womens Groups) | Lios na Dara, Carrick Road, Dundalk | Every Wednesday: 11.00a.m. – 1.00 p.m.Every Thursday: 11.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.Day trips every 6 weeks |
Louth won the prestigious Taoiseach’s Excellence in Public Service Award for “Sharing the Journey” Age Friendly County Project. Sharing the Journey is a collaboration of Private, Public and the Volunteer Sector with the aim of making Louth a great place to grow old. The work of the Louth Older People’s Forum contributed greatly to winning this award.
An innovative intergenerational partnership between Moorehall Lodge Ardee and Scoil Mhuire Na Trocaire primary school has won best Age Friendly Project at the Louth Looking Good awards. Local schoolchildren and residents came together to create three new gardens at Moorehall Retirement Village to celebrate European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity Between Generations. It took first prize in the Best Tidy Towns Age Friendly Project, sponsored by Matthews Coach Hire.
There are two edible gardens, composed of a variety of vegetables and herbs and one garden planted with cottage garden flowers to attract beds and butterflies.The project is part of the Growing Through the Ages initiative, being undertaken by Louth County Council’s Environment Section in collaboration with the Louth Older People’s Forum.
Representing the voice of older people on the following:
Plans, policies and programmes delivered by the Louth Age Friendly County Programme:
The Louth Older People’s Forum made submissions and promoted the following:
The Louth Older People’s Forum do exceptional work in their own projects such as:
