Mitchelstown Age Friendly host mayoral visit to town
It is predicted that by 2025, 25% of the Irish population will be over the age of 65. In light of this fact, it is necessary to look at how our towns are designed. How a shop is lit, the volume of music in public places and how long the green man stays on at a zebra crossing, all make a big difference to how one travels, shops and lives.
In 2016, Mitchelstown became an ‘Age Friendly’ town, and is one of eight such towns in the county. On Wednesday of this week those who take part in the Social Hub in the town, and those that are part of the Age Friendly group, gathered in the Town Hall to welcome the Mayor of County Cork to see the innovative work that the town has undertaken to make the place more accessible to those who are wiser and more experienced.
In a strictly non-political event, the Age Friendly committee in Mitchelstown, members of the Social Hub and invited guests, gathered in the Town Hall before doing a walkabout in the town. Much is spoken of the placement of the benches in the town, and while those with younger legs might think the subject overblown, one would caution those young bucks to remember that they will someday need a rest too!
County mayor, Cllr Gillian Coughlan, was in situ to witness first-hand what a grassroots movement of volunteer work can, and does, achieve.
Before setting off, in the Town Hall Willie Casey sang a fine and hearty rendition of ‘Grace’. It was a poignant historical reminder, as Wednesday was the 106th anniversary of the marriage of Joseph Plunkett to Grace Gifford in Kilmainham Jail on 3rd May, 1916, before Joseph Plunkett was shot just hours later for his part in the Easter Rising.
With history to one side, the stage was set for the gang to take a tour of the town and see what this group of dedicated and energetic citizens have done to make Mitchelstown a ‘ friendlier’ place to grow old in.