U3A SUTTON BALDOYLE

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS  2005 – 2025

Adding Life to Year

UNITED NATIONS - DECADE OF HEALTHY AGEING.   2021 – 2030

https://www.decadeofhealthyageing.org/  

Guest Speakers at September meeting:   Part 2

1.    Age Action Ireland  - Megan Reilly, Age Action Regional Manager  

We welcomed Megan to our ‘Celebrating 20 years of U3A Sutton Baldoyle’ September 2025 meeting.   Megan summarised Age Action’s vision, advocacy work, and services that Age Action provides.

Age Action is Ireland’s leading organisation for older people and they ‘have worked since 1992 to create change in Ireland by building an inclusive and age-positive society.

In addition to the U3A Lifelong Learning programme within Age Action which started 1995, there is Age Action’s Care and Repair Service that provides small DIY jobs, free of charge, for older people to help them maintain their homes and their independence; they have developed a 100-page curriculum to help people get online and learn basic internet use - you can access this even if you haven’t completed a Getting Started class with Age Action

Megan also outlined the role of volunteers within Age Action and how individuals can get involved, and the new Self-Directed Ageism Toolkit launched last Oct 2024.   This toolkit was developed in partnership with older people that included several of our U3A Sutton Baldoyle members.   The toolkit is freely available for individuals and groups.   Megan again reminded us of Age Action’s upcoming Annual General Meeting.

We are reminded of Positive Ageing Week which takes place on  26 September-3 October 2025 and includes United Nations International Day of Older Persons on October 1 2025 which is the date designated by the United Nations General Assembly to highlight older people's contributions and address the challenges of aging, such as advocating for their well-being and human rights. 

The UN's 2025 event theme is "Older Persons Driving Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-Being, Our Rights," focusing on their role in shaping policies and building inclusive societies. 

Age Action’s celebrates this during their Positive Ageing Week [PAW] events.

Details on their website https://www.ageaction.ie/positive-ageing-week/. as follows

Ageing well isn’t just about living longer—it’s about living better, with meaning, joy, and a sense of belonging. One of the most powerful ways to achieve that is through intergenerational connections.

When older and younger generations come together, something magical happens:

·         Wisdom meets curiosity – life lessons shared, and fresh ideas embraced.

·         Traditions meet innovation – stories, culture, and skills passed down, while new technologies open doors.

·         Loneliness meets friendship – creating bonds that strengthen communities and bring joy to daily life.

This year Age Action are launching our brand new Time For Tea coffee morning!

A coffee morning is always a wonderful way to bring people together – but when it’s intergenerational, it becomes something truly special.  

2. Presentation on: Food Loss and Waste: Tackling climate breakdown and building resilience – Angela Ruttledge, Food Cloud.

We also welcomed Angela Ruttledge, Head of Policy, Food Cloud & Eisenhower Fellow this month. An organisation that a lot of us lacked knowledge of the detail of their operation and work.

Angela is Head of Public Engagement, a solicitor with a background in financial, corporate, and commercial law.   She has served on the Council of the Restaurants Association of Ireland and is a member of the board of Fáilte Ireland. Angela ran a restaurant group for 12 years and is an Eisenhower Fellow (Global Leadership Programme 2023).

As reflected in the presentation slides & their Annual Report Food Cloud is an award-winning non-profit organisation tackling food loss and waste, delivering solutions that support people who are food insecure and fighting climate breakdown.

They work closely with the Irish food industry to identify and rescue surplus food from food manufacturers, producers, growers, and distributors and redistribute it to community groups across Ireland

Angela outlined how Food Cloud continues to demonstrate that surplus food, when redirected effectively, is a powerful tool for social good.  Her presentation included Infographics of statistics that provided details of their Global operation.   In Ireland alone their operation redistributed 3,896 tonnes of surplus food through partnerships with 195 food businesses and 674 community organisations. This impact extends beyond numbers, it represents nourishment, environmental stewardship, and the power of collective action in addressing food insecurity.

In Ireland Food Cloud operates 3 Hubs, in Dublin, Cork and Galway, collecting and distributing larger volumes of surplus food from across the food supply chain. Food Cloud receives regular donations of surplus food from 195 food businesses and rescues an estimated €15 million worth of food annually, supporting 674 Irish charities and community group

If you would like to explore this further and/or become a volunteer please go to their website and have a look at their 2024 report. Food Cloud 2024 Report     

3.    Upcoming Diary Dates of Interest.

Dublin City University – Lifelong Learning Programme

As mentioned at the meeting DCU Age Friendly Programmes are now open for registration as following.

Creative Writing: Click here to sign up for Creative Writing

Psychology Lectures: Click here to sign up for Psychology Lectures

Art Appreciation is full; however, please add your name to the waiting list for Art Appreciation 2 date to be confirmed.

Beginners Spanish: Click here to sign up for Beginners Spanish

Intermediate Spanish: Click here to sign up for Intermediate Spanish

The Magic of Opera: Click here to sign up for The Magic of Opera

(includes a visit to Bord Gais for the performance of Madama Butterfly on Nov 4th)

Opera Deconstructed: A Deeper Dive into Puccini: Click here to sign up for Opera Deconstructed, which includes a visit to Bord Gais for a performance of Madama Butterfly on Nov 4th.

The Story of Irish Folk Music: Click here to sign up for The Story of Irish Folk Music

Please review the details of your preferred module before contacting the office. 

Please Note:   DCU are experiencing a very high volume of calls, and many of the queries relate to information already contained in the module descriptions, such as dates, times/location/ content/ etc.

As payments are taken remotely, having a card to hand is very useful.

Grainne will get in touch for payments after each module has filled.

If you wish to call to the office on the Glasnevin Campus please make an appointment.  The AFU office number is 087 495 2547

Everyone will receive an email reconfirming the details before the modules start in the week beginning October 6th.

Information Event & Fashion Show 30th September

This is just a reminder of the Information Event and Fashion Show for Over 55s will take place in the Pavilions Shopping Centre on Tuesday 30th September 2025. The information event is being organised by Age Friendly Fingal and will take place on the first floor between 10:30 and 12:30. 

This is a great opportunity to seek information and advice from organisations such as Citizens Information, MABS, Fingal Volunteer Centre, Sage Advocacy, Alone, Age Friendly Healthy Homes, DCU, Education & Training Board, Community Alert/Senior Alarms, Care & Repair, Libraries, Sports, Active Travel, LocalLink, HSE and many more.

The Shopping Centre will hold a Fashion Show targeting over 55s on the day.  This will take place on the ground floor at 11:30 and again at 12:30.

Dublin History Festival – September 29 – October 11.

This Dublin Festival of History is an annual free festival, brought to you by Dublin City Council, and organised by Dublin City Libraries, in partnership with the Dublin City Council Culture Company.   Their website https://dublinfestivalofhistory.ie/ provides details of the 250+ Free In-person & Online Events throughout Dublin and Fingal.

Open House – 11 to 19 October 2025 - Festival of Architecture

Open House Dublin is a free festival of architecture with guided tours and events taking place across the city and county each October.   This festival celebrates great architecture, urban design and the people that contribute to the creation of built Dublin.   Lots of Free tours but not Pre Booking required and these are very popular – so early bird!!! 

Go to https://openhousedublin.com/whats-on/

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NEXT MEETING

U3A Sutton Baldoyle – October 8 Monthly Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on Oct 8 – Topic: Getting ready for the 1926 Irish State Census, Scheduled to be released on April 18 2026 – What can you expect?.  The speaker is Dr Noel Carolan, National, Local, and Family historian

September 25 2025,

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