Meath County Council and the Strategic Alliance launched the Meath Age Friendly County Initiative in September 2011. The Alliance ensures that all the stake holders keep the Age Friendly Focus at the heart of their services.  The Meath Age Friendly Alliance meets once every quarter.

The strategic Alliance is made up of the following members:

Mr Michael Finnegan, Chairman, Age Friendly Alliance

Ms Fiona Fallon, Senior Executive Officer, Meath County Council
Ms Miriam McKenna, C.E.O., Flexibus
Ms Jackie Maguire, Chief Executive Meath County Council
Mr Barry Lynch, Director of Services, Meath County Council
Cllr Gillian Toole, Member of Meath County Council
Mr Michael Ludlow, Chief Executive Officer, Meath Partnership
Dr Joe Larragy, Maynooth University
Mr Liam Carey, Head of National Development, Third Age Centre
Mr Jim Mathews, Later Life Network
Mr John Tobin Later Life Network
Ms Aine Brady, CEO, Third Age Centre
Ms Aisling Sheridan, Louth Meath Education Training Board

Sgt Dean Kerins, An Garda Síochána, Crime Prevention Officer

Ms Elaine Ryan, Older Persons Services HSE

Insp Martina Noonan, An Garda Síochána

Facilitated by :

Ms Catherine McGuigan, Chief Officer, Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service
Ms Áine Bird, Administrative Officer, Programme Manager Community Department, Meath County Council

Ms Joan Carroll, Senior Staff Officer, Programme Co-ordinator, Meath County Council

The Age Friendly programme has gone from strength to strength since 2011, The second Age Friendly strategy 2017 – 2020 was launched in 2017 and Meath County Council now host the Age Friendly Ireland shared Service in the Council Offices in Buvinda House, Navan, Co. Meath.

WHO recognition was awarded to Meath Age Friendly Programme as an Age Friendly County in a celebration in Slane Castle on the 16^th of December 2019 and the Age Friendly ethos has now been embedded across all of the services that Meath County Council provides.

Examples of Age Friendly initiatives undertaken by Meath County Council Age Friendly Programme over the past number of years are the Age Friendly designed Local Authority Houses in Proudstown, Navan, Kells Age Friendly Library, the Acorn older person’s tablet pilot programme, walkability audits in Kells, Slane, Trim, Athboy, Summerhill and Enfield.  Provision of age friendly parking spaces, participation in intergenerational project with Eureka Secondary School Kells with the “never home alone” programme and the digital skills programme.

Meath Age Friendly programme has been shortlisted for a number of Awards such as the LAMAs, the Chambers Award and won the National Age Friendly Recognition Awards in conjunction with Fingal and Limerick County Councils for the Age Friendly Acorn tablet pilot programme.  The Age Friendly / Dementia walkability in Athboy was nominated for an Excellence in Local Government Award in Berlin in November 2019.

This year Meath Age Friendly Programme and Meath’s Older Person’s Council will host the annual Older Persons Council (OPC) Convention 2020 in Trim County Meath on the 21^st and 22^nd of May 2020.  This event showcases all of the age friendly work being undertaken under the Age Friendly Ireland Programme across all 31 Local Authorities.

More information in relation to the Age Friendly Programme is available from https://www.meath.ie/council/council-services/community/older-people

For more detailed information on these and the other commitments / actions please refer to the Meath Age Friendly County Strategy