Introduction

Roscommon OPC meet on the last Wednesday of every month. Every meeting begins with tea & scones and a chat, everyone looks forward to this time together before the meetings. We made a concentrated effort at the beginning of 2025 to recruit more OPC members, we now have an increased membership and are reaching more groups from different parts of the county than ever before.

A very successful Age Friendly Information Day was held on Wednesday, 28^th May 2025 in Kilbride Community Centre. Paddy Joe Burke our Age Friendly Ambassador was our keynote speaker. Our OPC Chair, Bernie Kearney was the master of ceremonies & did an excellent job.

A series of Age Friendly Citizen’s Information Services roadshows commenced on Wednesday 18^th June 2025 in Kilbride Community Centre (11am – 1pm). The topics discussed on the day were State Pensions & Other Entitlements in Retirement. This initiative was instigated at our first OPC meeting of 2025. At the subsequent AF Alliance meeting, the agencies were asked to collaborate on this together. It was seen that a need was there for more information for older people with regards to their entitlements. There was a huge crowd on the day and lunch was provided afterwards. More information roadshows are planned, see details under No. 14 below.

An Age Friendly Walkability Audit took place at Roscommon Hospital on 28^th August 2025. It began with a briefing session facilitated by Declan Gaffney, Age Friendly Ireland’s Technical Advisor. There were 28 participants on the day who took on two specific walking routes. The Age Friendly Hospital Steering Committee sought to involve people with a mixture of abilities, with a focus on identifying barriers at the hospital for older adults, people with disabilities and those with sensory or mobility challenges.

Following the walk, participants gathered for a debrief session where feedback was shared and discussed. The feedback and pictures will now be compiled into a formal report as Roscommon Hospital moves forward in it’s quest for Age Friendly accreditation.

_{Participants at Roscommon Hospital’s Age Friendly Walkability Audit / Mary Guihen, Roscommon Leader, Christine Rohan, Roscommon Hospital, Margaret Mulligan, Roscommon OPC, Paddy Joe Burke, Age Friendly Ambassador, Sheila Coyle, Age Friendly Programme Manager, Linda Devine, Roscommon Leader} 

Contacts