Age Friendly

Case Studies: Monaghan
First Steps: How the Age
Friendly Alliance was formed
in Monaghan
Monaghan was one of the first counties in
Ireland to embrace the Age Friendly ethos and
agenda. Catherine McGuigan, Age Friendly
Ireland’s Regional Consultant introduced
the programme to the County Manager
who agreed to adopt it. Following further
presentations about the programme by
McGuigan, Monaghan County Development
Board and the Monaghan County Council
adopted the programme in August 2011.
At this point, the County Manager appointed
Bernie Bradley, an Administrative Officer
at the local authority to manage the Age
Friendly programme in Monaghan. Together
with McGuigan, Bradley identified potential
members for the Age Friendly Alliance in health,
transport, education, community, county
councilors and the Gardai. On behalf of the
County Manager, they invited the most senior
people in Monaghan in each of these sectors
to join the Alliance. Often, McGuigan met these
individuals to explain the Age Friendly ethos
and encourage them to become involved.
“It’s very important to have the most senior
member from each sector on the Alliance
because it’s a strategic group which requires
its members to be both decision makers and in
charge of budgets,” says McGuigan.
The Age Friendly Alliance with representatives
from the Gardai, health, transport and education
and community held its first official meeting in
September 2011, hours before the Monaghan
Age Friendly programme was officially
launched. Bernie Bradley made contact with
every community and voluntary organisation in
Monaghan to invite them to the official launch of
Monaghan’s Age Friendly County programme.
Many County Councils hold a database of these
organisations which is a useful to draw on when
planning these events.
Bradley contacted managers of nursing
homes, public health nurses and other
healthcare professionals, librarians, county
councilors etc in an attempt to draw in as
wide a group of people as possible. McGuigan
and Bradley spoke about the Age Friendly
programme on local radio stations and
publicised the launch in parish newsletters
and local newspapers. About 200 people
attended the official launch of the programme
in September 2011, no doubt partly drawn to
the event by the presence of the nationally
renowned saxophonist, Paddy Cole.
“We were delighted to have local musician,
Paddy Cole at our launch. He relaxed people
and made the event more informal,” says
Bernie Bradley. As well as celebrating the
beginning of something new, the launch was
a perfect opportunity to capture the views of
older people on how Monaghan fared as a
county to grow old in.
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