Engage

At Age & Opportunity we are bringing Creative Exchanges to Cork city this autumn. Creative Exchanges is a two-day course (one day per week over 2 weeks), designed for activities coordinators working in residential or day care settings.  It is also suitable for those with an arts background, interested in engaging with older people in a care setting. *

Creative Exchanges provides participants with:

• Practical skills to carry out creative activities with people in residential and day care settings
• An understanding of the value of creative activity, particularly in care settings
• Experience of taking part in arts-based workshops
• The opportunity to meet and share experiences with other activity coordinators/facilitators

The course is designed to provide meaningful opportunities to engage older people in arts activities and adopts a person-centred approach promoted by HIQA’s National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People (2016). On completion of the course, a Certificate of Attendance will be issued to participants by Age & Opportunity. It is the only course of this type currently running in Ireland.

VENUE AND DATES
Venue:             The Boardroom, Civic Trust House, 50 Pope’s Quay, Shandon, Cork, T23 R6XC
Dates:              Thursdays 12^th and 19^th November 2026
Times:              10 am to 4.30 pm Tea/coffee will be provided on arrival and at the mid-morning break.

PRICE/BOOKING
Creative Exchanges costs €395 per participant and participants need to attend both training days.  As places are limited, fees need to be paid in advance to secure a place. To book a place, please contact Fiona at engage@ageandopportunity.ie or Tel (01) 913 3922.

Full details on the flyer here:  Creative Exchanges, Cork

We are delighted to offer Changing Gears in collaboration with Portlaoise Library this November and December 2026.

Changing Gears is a course designed to boost wellbeing and resilience for those aged 50+ years. It supports people to manage transitions/change in mid to later life. The change may be to do with: retirement, having more free time, bereavement, job-loss, ill health, becoming a carer or relationship breakdown. Its aim is to: help participants to identify what has served them well to date in life, the successes and challenges they have experienced, what supports they have in their lives and what they may need to put in place, and/or discard, for the next stage of life. It aims to lay the foundations for a positive and fulfilling approach to mid/later life.

How does it work?
Changing Gears runs over 5 weeks with weekly sessions of 2 ½ hours. It offers participants time to:
– Develop skills and techniques build resilience and confidence in managing life-changes or transitions.
– Reframe change as opportunity with positive options and also challenging negative stereotypes about ageing.

Venue: Portlaoise Library, 23 Main St, Maryborough, Portlaoise, Co. Laois R32 N7EP
Dates: Wednesdays 4, 11, 18, 25 November and 2 December 2026
Times: 10.30 – 13.00 (Refreshments will be provided)

Full details on the flyer here:  Changing Gears Portlaoise.

To book your place please contact Fiona on engage@ageandopportunity.ie or call on 01 9133922.

This course has been funded by the HSE and is free of charge. Participation requires attendance at each of the five sessions.

We are delighted to offer Changing Gears in Sligo this October and November 2026.

Changing Gears is a course designed to boost wellbeing and resilience for those aged 50+ years. It supports people to manage transitions/change in mid to later life. The change may be to do with: retirement, having more free time, bereavement, job-loss, ill health, becoming a carer or relationship breakdown. Its aim is to: help participants to identify what has served them well to date in life, the successes and challenges they have experienced, what supports they have in their lives and what they may need to put in place, and/or discard, for the next stage of life. It aims to lay the foundations for a positive and fulfilling approach to mid/later life.

How does it work?
Changing Gears runs over 5 weeks with weekly sessions of 2 ½ hours. It offers participants time to:
– Develop skills and techniques build resilience and confidence in managing life-changes or transitions
– Reframe change as opportunity with positive options and also challenging negative stereotypes about ageing

Venue: MCR Sligo Active Age, Mail Coach Road, Knocknaganny, Sligo
Dates: Tuesdays 13, 20 October (gap of a week) and 3, 10, 17 November 2026
Times: 10.30 to 13.00 (Refreshments will be provided)

To book your place please contact Lisa on lisashortmcr@gmail.com or call on 071 91 46512

Download the flyer here: Changing Gears – Sligo

The Azure Steering Group, comprised of Age & Opportunity, IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art), Butler Gallery and The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, is pleased to offer Azure foundation training for gallery/museum staff (curators, education/access officers, guides and volunteers), arts educators and artists with facilitation experience, this Autumn. We ask that arts educators and artists are working with a gallery/museum, so they have a collection to draw on to facilitate tours.

The training is designed for those currently facilitating general tours, or those with previous experience in this area. It trains participants in how to facilitate Azure tours for those with dementia-related conditions and their families, carers and friends. It aims to enhance their visitor experience of these cultural institutions and to promote more inclusive access. Underpinning the training is the belief, that we are all entitled to be active cultural participants throughout our lives.

Once participants have completed the foundation course their gallery/museum is considered part of the Azure network. For more background on Azure and the Azure network (organisations offering Azure Tours) please visit: https://ageandopportunity.ie/engage/azure-dementia-friendly-tours/

VENUE AND DATES
IMMA, The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham, Dublin 8
Wednesdays: 16th , 23rd , 30th September and 14th , 21st October 2026, 10am – 4.30pm.

Please note, participants must attend all of the September dates and one of the October dates. Which October date will be arranged once the course has commenced. The course involves 4 full days of training not 5.

PRICE/BOOKING
Azure Foundation training costs €625 per participant. As places are limited, fees need to be paid in advance to secure a place.

For more information or to book a place, please contact Fiona at Tel (01) 913 3922 or fiona.holohan@ageandopportunity.ie

Further information in the flyer here:  Azure flyer

Are you an older member (50+ years) of the LGBTQ+ community?
Would you like to be involved increating a more connected LGBTQ+ community as you age?

Get Engaged at Outhouse, Dublin is an initiative for older members of the LGBTQ+ community. It offers an opportunity to come together, to look at issues and challenges faced by the community, and to consider practical initiatives to address them. It aims to develop skills and knowledge within the group to build resilience so we can address specific needs together.

It’s designed to be interactive and enjoyable with a pragmatic,hands-on focus. Topics addressed include:
Positive Ageing, Personality, Teamwork and Collaboration, Planning and Implementing a Community Project, Communications. Other possible topics: Identity as an Older LGBTQ+ adult, Managing Change as an Older Person.

How can I get involved?
Get Engaged is funded by the Bank of Ireland Community Fund, through Community Foundation Ireland and is free to attend. This course is delivered in 2.5 hour sessions once a week over 5 weeks (please note the weeks are not all consecutive). Each session builds on the one before, so please only sign up if you can participate in all 5 sessions.

Venue: Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre, 105 Capel Street, Rotunda,Dublin 1, D01 R290
Dates: Tuesdays 1, 8, 15, 29 September & 13 October 2026
Times: 10.30 am – 1.00 pm (which includes a comfort break with tea and coffee)

How can I book?
To make a booking please contact Hannah Kelly, Programmes and Services Manager, Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre on hello@outhouse.ie or call 01 873 4999

If you have any questions on the course please contact Fiona Holohan, Engage Programme Coordinator in Age & Opportunity on engage@ageandopportunity.ie or call 019133922.

Download the flyer here:  Get Engaged for LGBTQ+ Community – Outhouse, Dublin

Are you an older member (50+ years) of the LGBTQ+ community?

Would you like to be involved in creating a more connected community as you age?

Are you part of an LGBTQ+ group or interested in starting one?

If so, Get Engaged may be the initiative for you.

Get Engaged is an initiative for older members of the LGBTQ+ community. It offers an opportunity and space to come together, to look at issues and challenges among the community and to consider how these can be addressed.

It aims to develop the skills and knowledge of a group (newly formed or established) so we can address specific needs and build resilience together and individually.

It’s designed to be interactive and enjoyable with a practical, hands-on focus. Topics addressed include: Positive Ageing, Personality, Teamwork and Collaboration, Planning and
Implementing a Community Project and Communications. Other possible topics: Identity as an Older LGBTQ+ adult,Managing Change as an Older Person.

How does it work?
Age & Opportunity is offering the initiative/course for older adult LGBTQ+ groups this Autumn and in 2027, funded by the Bank of Ireland Community Development Fund, through Community Foundation Ireland. It’s structured as 5 x in person sessions of 2.5 hours each. If you are interested to discuss the initiative and how it could work for your group, please get in touch with us.

Please contact: engage@ageandopportunity.ie or Tel: 01 913 3922

Download the flyer here:  Get Engaged – Open Call for LGBTQ+ community

We are delighted to offer Changing Gears in Roscommon this January/February 2026.

Changing Gears is a course designed to boost wellbeing and resilience for those aged 50+ years. It supports people to manage transitions/change in mid to later life. The change may be to do with: retirement, having more free time, bereavement, job-loss, ill health, becoming a carer or relationship breakdown. Its aim is to: help participants to identify what has served them well to date in life, the successes and challenges they have experienced, what supports they have in their lives and what they may need to put in place, and/or discard, for the next stage of life. It aims to lay the foundations for a positive and fulfilling approach to mid/later life.

How does it work?

Changing Gears runs over 5 weeks with weekly sessions of 2.5 hours. It offers participants time to: Develop skills and techniques build resilience and confidence in managing life-changes or transitions Reframe change as opportunity with positive options and also challenging negative stereotypes about ageing.

This course had been funded by the HSE and is free of charge. Participation requires attendance at each of the five sessions.

Venue: Gleesons, Roscommon, Market Square, Co. Roscommon F42WA22.
Dates: Mondays 12, 19, 26 January (gap of a week) and 9, 16 February 2026
Times: 10.30 – 13.00 (Refreshments will be provided)

To book your place please contact Fiona on engage@ageandopportunity.ie or call on 01 9133922

Details on the flyer here:  Changing Gears – Roscommon