You’re not alone: ‘One in 10 elderly has nobody’
ONE in 10 elderly people has nobody to turn to for company, according to ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ star Brendan O’Carroll.
Speaking at the launch of a new fundraising campaign for the Alone charity, Mr O’Carroll said “for a lot of these people, Joe Duffy is their best friend”, referring to the RTÉ broadcaster’s ‘Liveline’ show.
Mr O’Carroll said his character Agnes Brown in the hit TV comedy is fortunate to have her best friend Winnie McGoogan living next door. “Everyone needs a Winnie,” he said.
The actor’s wife and co-star Jenny Gibney, who plays Agnes’s daughter Cathy Brown, said many seniors spend their entire days without saying a word to anyone. “I think people tend to forget that people lose friends as they get older when they begin to pass away and they’re left on their own,” she said.
The couple are encouraging everyone to ‘Have a Laugh for Loneliness’ by hosting social events to raise funds to support Alone’s volunteer befriending service.