Winners of the 2024 National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards Revealed

An age-and-climate-friendly village in Kildare and a Halloween safety initiative by An Garda Síochána in Kerry were among the winners of the 2024 National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards. Announced at the 8th annual awards on 7th November, the winning campaigns were chosen for their exceptional contribution to making Ireland an outstanding place to grow older.

MCed by RTÉ star Marty Whelan and hosted this year by Fingal County Council at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Northwood, Santry, Dublin, the National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards winners were:

Age Friendly Transport Award, sponsored by the Department of Transport: Cnoc (Inverin) and Casla Bus Shelters, Connemara, Galway County Council. This project was designed to improve accessibility and user comfort at bus stops serving rural Gaeltacht communities in south Connemara. The enhanced facilities increase the attractiveness of public transport and empower older persons to make more climate-friendly transportation choices.

Age Friendly Community Innovation Award, sponsored by the Department of Rural & Community Development: Creative Cafés, Monaghan County Council. CreativeCafés are an opportunity for people to get out of the house, meet new people, have a chat and engage in a creative activity, all of which are shown to improve mental health and wellbeing.? It also showcases that public libraries aren’t just about books and reading, with the project offering ukulele lessons, acrylic painting, creative writing, Sean Nós dancing, eco crafting, Christmas wreath making and bodhrán making and playing.

Age Friendly Communication Award, sponsored by An Post: Development and Publication of a Directory of Health and Social Care Services for Older People, HSE with Laois County Council and Offaly County Council. The ability to access clear and concise information impacts an older person’s life, from health and well-being to social connectedness to financial security. A working group comprising HSE, other statutory agencies, and community and voluntary partners developed the directory to link existing cross-sectoral community-based assets. Local consultation with older people informed the planning and this found loneliness to be a real problem in rural areas. The directory signposts opportunities for support, resources and ways to form better social connections. 

Age Friendly Housing, Brady’s Court, South Dublin County Council. The development at Brady’s Court represents an exemplifier infill development in an established suburban community – ideally suited and attractive to older residents who would like to right-size. This project is just one example of an ongoing programme of 10 sites currently being developed by South Dublin County Council and is supported by Development Plan policies and objectives which actively encourage age-friendly provision.

Age Friendly Environment Award, sponsored by the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at NDA: Joint winners of this award were: Ballymore Eustace, Age Friendly Climate Friendly Village, Kildare County Council; and Creating Age Friendly & Inclusive Beach Access in Donegal, Donegal County Council & Community Groups. Ballymore Eustace was chosen as a village to become age-friendly and Climate Friendly by the fact that in the last census of 2016, Ballymore Eustace had the largest number of older residents per head of population in the county. From a Climate Action perspective, Ballymore-Eustace was chosen as an example of a rural commuter village and how it can integrate solutions at a community level to adapt to climate change.

Age Friendly Safety & Security Award, sponsored by An Garda Síochána: Halloween Safety Door Hanger Initiative, An Garda Síochána, Kerry. This project involved a two-sided waterproof design based on the Traffic Light System, to give people the option of answering the door.?Red is for Stop (No Trick or Treaters) and Green is for Go (Welcome Trick or Treaters).?There are Halloween characters depicted on both sides which adds a fun element.? Some people are reluctant to answer the door to trick-or-treaters at Halloween, due to illness, a new baby, a bereavement, or they may be out of candy.

Age Friendly Business Innovation Award, sponsored by Chambers Ireland: Age-Friendly Care from eir, eir Ireland. In 2021, eir launched its Age Friendly Programme following months of collaboration with Age Action and Age Friendly Ireland. This programme was developed to provide a tailored customer journey for eir customers aged 65 and older. Age Friendly Care is comprehensive, sustainable, and impactful for this important demographic.

Key features of the Age Friendly Programme include a dedicated phone line (1800 252 252) that connects customers with specially trained Age-Friendly Care and Technical Support agents.  Other improvements include priority call routing and fault prioritisation, backed by a range of streamlined backend processes that simplify the customer experience. In September 2023, eir extended the Age Friendly Programme to retail stores to ensure specialised care is provided to these customers no matter how they’re interacting with them. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. eir remains committed to evolving th

Age Friendly Active & Healthy Ageing Award, sponsored by the Department of Health: Rosemount GAA Social Initiative, Westmeath. This project, tackling social exclusion, facilitates the participation of older members of our society, through social activities and events specifically designed to enrich their lives and respect the important contribution they have made and can continue to make to community life. By maximising the autonomy, capacity and engagement of older people as well as building intergenerational solidarity in rural communities is key to tackling social exclusion.

Ireland’s National Public Libraries were also honoured on the night with the Judge’s Special Recognition Award, acknowledging the exceptional dedication of library staff nationwide. The judges highlighted how library teams go above and beyond to create welcoming, accessible, and relevant services tailored to the diverse and evolving needs of older people.

Public libraries have also played a vital role in facilitating the rollout of many initiatives recognised in this year’s awards, underscoring their commitment to supporting communities and enhancing the quality of life for older adults across the country.

Ita Healy, Chair of the National Network of Older People’s Councils said, “This annual celebration of projects really personifies what it means to be age-friendly. The calibre of projects across the country is a true testament to how Ireland is embracing the Age Friendly Ireland vision. A huge congratulations to the winners and all the shortlisted projects that were truly the gold standard of innovative ideas to improve the quality of life for older adults in Ireland. I look forward to seeing how other groups replicate the projects in their own communities.”

Kieran Kehoe, Chief Executive of Meath County Council added, “This year marks the eighth year of the National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards. Since 2014, the quality of shortlisted projects has continued to improve. These awards were designed to recognise the work of everyone — from the community and voluntary sector; to front-line workers and practitioners, businesses and individuals. These awards are for you, the people who have worked tirelessly to support older people in their community.”

Peter Hynes, Chair of the Age Friendly Awards Selection Panel, who addressed over 300 attendees at the awards ceremony, said, “Choosing just a selection of winners from an exceptional list was no easy task. We visited each shortlisted project to establish if their work, which looked so fantastic on paper, lived up to expectations. Each one exceeded our expectations at every point. Congratulations to the overall winners, your projects are fantastic exemplars of Age-Friendly initiatives.”

AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive, of Fingal County Council, added, “We were delighted to host this year’s Age Friendly Awards. It is a huge event in the annual Age Friendly Ireland calendar, and it is our pleasure to welcome representatives from every local authority in Ireland here to Fingal to celebrate. Fingal has been an Age Friendly County since 2012, and since then we have been working towards creating a community that incorporates the voice of the older person at every turn.”