THE Clare Older People’s Council are looking to find the County’s Older Person of the Year. This person will be aged 55 or over and will be up to their neck in voluntary work for their community.
Evelyn Henry of the council outlined what’s required, “It must be someone aged over 55, they must reside in Clare and we’re looking for someone who does a lot of voluntary work for their communities. We’re looking for nominations from community organisations; that can be a scout group, an active retirement group, the ICA, a community council, whatever. We’re looking for the sort of person who is always there to lend a hand, whether it’s picking up rubbish, washing up cups, whatever’s required.”
Chairperson of the council, Stella O’Gorman added, “This is to recognise that older people have a very valuable contribution to make and should be rewarded for it.”
Regarding the council’s role, she said, “We represent the views of older people at county level and at national level. We meet every month and the kind of things we organise are this award.”
Ms Henry said that many older people are very active in their communities. “A lot of the voluntary work is done by the over-55s. We have the time and still have the energy and the inclination to commit to our communities,” she said.
Nominations should be made before the end of February and can be made by email to claresolderpeoplescouncil@gmail.com or by post to The Clare Older Peoples Council, c/o CLDC, Westgate, Ennis.
The winner will be named in mid-May.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.