Busy day as seniors meet and celebrate

A fun-filled day of activities was enjoyed by members of the Older People’s Council at Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar, last Thursday week. There were talks on how to avoid becoming the victims of crime, how to research your family tree and explore the national archives, how to make a will, and lots more. There were also sports activities throughout the day and a sumptuous lunch to fuel the participants.

Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Bill Collentine, and the chief executive, Barry Kehoe, along with the international Rose of Tralee, Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh, attended.

This event came just days after the announcement that Westmeath had won the Best Age Friendly Programme award for 2026. The programme has an Older People’s Council of more than 700 members and is spearheaded by Annette Barr-Jordan, manager.

Anne Drury from Multyfarnham, chairperson of the Westmeath Older People’s Council, presented Annette with a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the council. She remarked that Annette is the longest serving Age Friendly programme manager in Ireland, adding, “we all know the amount of work she puts in”.

In response, Annette said: “I didn’t win this, it was won by all of you.” She said it was a privilege to work with the Older People’s Council and she looked forward to working with them long into the future.

Bernie Cotter, assistant staff officer, accepted a presentation from the Older People’s Council on behalf of the Westmeath Age Friendly team, in recognition of the work done by past and present members.

Cllr Tom Farrell, a member of the Older People’s Council, and Hugh Farrell, vice-chairman of the council, were busy attending the various workshops on offer. They had taken in the history and sports workshops and were heading off to the one on energy saving when the Westmeath Examiner spoke to them.

The history workshop was given by Martin Fagan, recently appointed archivist with Westmeath County Council, and Paula O’Dornan, senior executive librarian with the Westmeath library services.

They explained how to explore the Census, Griffith’s Valuation, parish and civil records, how to scan maps from the 1800s, and how to delve into your genealogy using the national archives.

Mr Fagan pointed out that many search tools are freely available through the local library service. There you can visit Find My Past, the Newspaper Archives and other sites that you would have to pay for at home but are free through the library, he explained.

Mark Sweeney in Mullingar and Lorna Farrell in Athlone are the local studies librarians and they hold a lot of local studies history books and other materials, Mr Fagan told the audience.

“We are always available; reach out and we will look at your query and point you in the right direction,” he said.

Sergeant Brian Stones, Westmeath crime prevention officer, gave advice how to keep safe in your home and online. Regarding the latter, his warning was “do not click links, no matter how genuine they look and sound”. At home, look at your security and try to stay safe, he said.

The sports activities were coordinated by representatives of the Westmeath Sports Partnership, Anthony Wheat, Cian Fogarty and Christine Darby, and, later in the day, there was Movement to Music with Paul Cheevers.

In the afternoon, Sylvia Smith, administrator with Mullingar Citizens Information, gave a talk on making a will, and there was a talk by Claire Byrne on how to keep your home warmer for less, using SEAI grants.