"I was so shocked, angry and annoyed when I first heard the amount I was to be awarded. It brought back the anger I felt in 1972 when I had to leave my job. I believe I am being penalised for caring for my children."
It’s hard to stomach that at the start of the 21st Century, in a relatively prosperous economy with a climate like ours, between 1,500 and 2,000 people die annually from cold-related illness. Or, to put that another way, they die because they cannot afford to heat their homes.
After more than four decades of distinguished service in Irish diplomacy, Donal Denham was sent (unwillingly) into mandatory retirement in 2015. He writes for Age Action about his career, coping with retirement and helping to start a brand new U3A group in Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey.
In 2017 Age Action celebrates the 20th anniversary of the opening of its first charity shop at Camden Street, Dublin by taking the number of shops around Ireland to seven. Gail Kennedy, who has recently taken over as Retail Manager, writes about the expansion plans - and the importance of the shops to Age Action’s work.
Maureen Cullinane is 72 but instead of taking it easy, the Cork woman is learning the Irish language, making radio documentaries, hating housework and channelling her inner Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg to train her peers as part of Age Action’s Getting Started computer training. She writes about her experiences for the Age Action blog.
Sharon Foley, CEO of the Irish Hospice Foundation, writes a special blog for Age Action to draw attention to a national survey where Irish people share their beliefs and wishes on dying, death and bereavement. The survey will form the basis of a new "Irish Charter on Dying, Death and Bereavement" to be published next year.
The UN Independent Expert on older people and human rights, Ms Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, has published a report which campaigners hope will energise the fight for a new international human rights treaty specifically for older people, writes Lianne Murphy.
