Active retirement group Sean Cháirde
SEAN Cháirde is a Beaufort based organisation that targets loneliness and isolation among elderly people. The 100-plus voluntary organisation try to encourage local groups to make opportunities available for older people to participate in activities and to develop awareness of the needs of the elderly.
Sean Cháirde also shares information and lobbies other organisations on the issues affecting older people. The group is equally proud of the part it has played in helping to activate the lives of older people involved with ‘The South Kerry Older People’s Network’ where they have got involved in a project to knit products for people in need, both at home and abroad.
A measure of this success is the 2016 response to the crisis in Calais where 75 large blankets were sent to refugees, while the Kerry Diocesan project in Gaza and West Bank also benefited from the work. This is a remarkable example of how elderly people in south Kerry have played their own small but highly significant part in helping to ease the hardships imposed on others. The benefits of such work help keep the minds of those doing the work active, while also creating plenty of social interaction. It gets elderly people out of the house and for those who can’t attend they can still feel involved by knitting from home.
The Sean Cháirde group doesn’t rest on its laurels as they arrange informative, outreaching information days, indoor bowls, dine & dance days, training and up skilling in IT, and holiday breaks.