WATCH: Portlaoise positive ageing event attracts big crowd and big names
Packed event saw Nina Carberry, Terry Prone, and medical experts take a fresh and holistic approach to the subject of ageing
A keynote event in Portlaoise took a frank and modern approach to the subject of ageing, examining it from medical, sociological and political angles.
The event, hosted by Laois TD Willie Aird at the Killeshin Hotel this morning, had 250 attendees, with the organisers even having to turn people away at the door as the ballroom reached capacity.
Journalist, actor, and communications guru Terry Prone moderated the morning with her usual charisma and irreverent humour, and had the crowd laughing from her opening address. She also spoke about her new podcast Grey Matters, which confronts the realities of growing old in Ireland.
Specialist Geriatrician Professor Des O’Neill spoke about the portrayal of ageing in popular culture and the implications of its misrepresentation.
He told the Leinster Express / Laois Live: “One of the big problems we have, if you go to any bookshop in Ireland and look at the section on ageing, it’s all actually negative about ageing: Younger Next Year, How to Grow Older Without Getting Old. So actually, they’re selling this false narrative where, in fact, if you think negatively about ageing, that’s associated with all sorts of negative healthcare outcomes.
“The other thing, if you think negatively about ageing, that feeds into the political system, and your services won’t be good, so go figure.”
“The real worry about these so-called ‘self-help’ books is they seem to push the responsibility for healthy and optimal ageing back onto the individual, whereas, in fact, it’s actually society that makes people age optimally.”
Professor O’Neill also discussed how nursing homes have become politically taboo despite continuing to serve a significant cohort of our population.
“One of my big challenges, for example, with Age Friendly Ireland – who do many good things – but their strategies for Laois and Offaly almost completely neglect nursing homes or actually talk negatively about nursing homes,” he said.
“We need to go back to our political parties, who’ve all said they don’t want younger people to be in nursing homes, and you’re going: Why do you want older people to be in nursing homes as they’re currently configured?
“And we’ve handed over our nursing homes en masse to private equity. Private equity is not here to make an environment which is local, domestically-based, and which maximises your flourishing.”
Dr Anne Coyle provided her perspective as an advocate for older people and former HSE executive, and MEP and former jockey Nina Carberry also delivered remarks.
Carberry co-chairs the European Alzheimer’s Alliance, which she described as “a great get-together where we brainstorm, but also take in all the research and data that’s up to date.
"There’s so much research and innovation going on around Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and it’s brilliant, but we need to keep the funding going and research going and also the data sharing. We have 27 member states, but it’s quite fragmented when it comes to data sharing and sharing initiatives and innovation.”
Architect Rodd Bond spoke about adapting our homes and living situations in advance as we age.
“There’s 200 different journeys here. It’s not that there are right solutions,” he said. “But there are some common challenges and common things to look at.”