Cavan-Monaghan project wins Age Friendly Award

A Cavan-Monaghan project has scooped an award at this year’s National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards ceremony on Thursday, 30th November.

An Garda Síochána in Cavan Monaghan won the award in the Safety and Security category for the Older Persons’ Wellbeing Events that took place in Cavan and Monaghan.  Both Cavan County Council and Monaghan County Council Age Friendly programmes assisted in the organisation of these events and part funded them. The Cavan event took place on the 25th May 2024 in the Lavey Inn during Community Engagement Week.

The Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards showcase age friendly initiatives from around the country that are contributing to making Ireland a great place in which to grow old. The event was presented by Age Friendly Ireland, a shared service function of Local Government in Meath County Council and was hosted and sponsored by Wexford County Council. Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Marty Morrissey, Irish sports commentator and television presenter with RTÉ. This is the seventh annual awards ceremony for Age Friendly Ireland since 2014.

The National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards ceremony is an annual acknowledgement of the significant work that takes place across the country, recognising in particular those whose efforts contribute to older people living better lives as they age. Many of the projects come from the community & voluntary sector, front line workers and practitioners who have worked tirelessly to support older people. It is a beautiful event celebrating all that is good in Ireland for older people.

The national Age Friendly Programme has been running for nearly 15 years and has been implemented by all 31 Local Authorities in Ireland. The programme is built on the recognition of the valuable role that older people can and should play in shaping their communities for the better.

This year eight categories of awards, aligning to the themes of the World Health Organisation’s global framework for Age Friendly Cities and Communities, were presented to age friendly projects in recognition for their innovative and creative approach to making Ireland a great place in which to grow old.

The winners in each category were:

  • Age Friendly Transport Award: Ireland’s First Age Friendly Train Station, MacDonagh Station in Kilkenny.
  • Age Friendly Active & Healthy Aging Award: Healthy islands, County Galway off shore islands
  • Age Friendly Business Innovation Award: Specsavers, Age Friendly Business, Newbridge
  • Age Friendly Safety & Security Award: An Garda Síochána, Older Persons’ Wellbeing Event, Cavan and Monaghan
  • Age Friendly Communication Award: Information Screens, Dublin City Council Central Area
  • Age Friendly Environment Award: Access for All, Age Friendly Recycling Initiative, Carlow
  • Age Friendly Community Innovation Award: Sweeter the Tune, Leitrim
  • Age Friendly Housing Award: Cornamona Court, Ballyfermot, Dublin
  • Judges Special Recognition Awards: Beech Hill College, Monaghan - Beech Hill College Intergenerational Project and Colaiste Na Sceilge – Cahersiveen - Intergenerational Connection: Youth Action