U3A SUTTON BALDOYLE

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF SHARED LEARNING   2005 – 2025

UNITED NATIONS - DECADE OF HEALTHY AGEING.   2021 – 2030

https://www.decadeofhealthyageing.org/  

Adding Life to Year

SEPTEMBER 2025 MEETING 

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF SHARED LEARNING 

1. Introduction - Part 1 Sept 2025 update. 

At our recent September 2025 meeting, with the help of members of the Steering Group and Baldoyle Library our meeting room was decorated to celebrate 20 years of shared learning of our U3A Sutton Baldoyle group.  

Eileen S welcomed everyone back to our monthly meetings in Baldoyle Library, particularly those who have come along for the first time, Megan Reilly from Age Action Ireland and our guest speaker Angela Ruttledge from Food Cloud.    She  mentioned that an apology was received from Sheila Cullen, that due to a diary clash, she was unable to attend this meeting, Nuala D, who recently moved to live near Geneva, sent us ‘Happy 20th Birthday’ wishes and Madge McQ, sent her apology.   

Sheila has been involved with Age Action U3A’s since the mid 199O’s and is one of the founding members of U3A Sutton Baldoyle in 2005.  Sheila, Nuala and Madge were also involved with other U3A Groups before joining the Sutton Baldoyle Group in 2005.

This celebration of 20 years at the beginning of the meeting gave us an opportunity to reflect briefly on the history of the international U3A movement and Eileen S  briefly outlined this history of the U3A [University of the Third Age] which is now a highly successful movement worldwide.   

2.   Outline history of U3A movement prior to our set up in 2005.  

France: 1972/73:   The first Université du Troisième Âge (University of the Third Age (U3A)), was founded in Toulouse, France in 1972/3 to offer continuing education by professional lecturers to the retired and local retired people, i.e. anyone over the retirement age with no qualifications or examinations and fees kept to a minimum. 

The French university model spread very quickly throughout France and to other European countries such as Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Poland and across the Atlantic to Quebec and San Diego in California.  

UK: 1981/1982:  A decade later the inspiration for U3A Cambridge (U3AC) came from a visit to France of a consultant Geriatrician and Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge who suggested that a similar organisation might be set up in Cambridge for retired and older persons.

From the outset, the Cambridge model for a U3A differed significantly from the French one in so far as Cambridge was to be run by its members for its members.   In the words of the Steering Committee at the time ‘the University of the Third Age in Cambridge aims to provide opportunities for retired people to learn and teach both academic and non-academic subjects in a spirit of self-help or mutual aid on a non-profit making and non-competitive basis’.   They adopted an approach of a self-directed, self-help learning model.    This U3A model spread throughout UK and today is organised through the Third Age Trust, to which all U3As were affiliated including Cambridge U3AC but each U3A is independent.

U3A has spread throughout the world and has evolved with different models and structures to suit local conditions and global settings and includes Virtual U3A and online U3A groups which can be accessed worldwide.

Ireland: 1995- 1999:  In 1995 Age Action Ireland, at a seminar in Dublin, explored the potential of U3A as a model of lifelong learning for older adults. The following year 1996 at another seminar in Galway the U3A approach characterised by a ‘self-help model of ‘doing it for yourselves’ was implemented.    The stated Irish U3A ethos was ‘to encourage the development of self-help learning collectives amongst learners of the third age.’

In 1999 Age Action, following State Funding, started the first national initiative to promote the University of the Third Age in Ireland ‘for older people by older people’.    Age Action appointed a National Development Officer who visited local communities encouraging them to set up U3A groups.    

Acknowledgements:

In the Acknowledgements Section to a guide produced later by Age Action’s National Development Officer a number of individuals, who were active in U3A were listed to have particularly contributed towards the development of U3A in Ireland since 1999. One of the names on this list is Sheila Cullen from our U3ASutton Baldoyle Group.   

The National Development Officer went around the country to speak about U3A and to encourage individuals to start their own U3A group and provided guides and information material.   Groups in Blackrock, Cork, Finglas, Wicklow, North Donegal, Lucan, Westport and Dublin U3A were established soon afterwards and they met in varying locations e.g. the Dublin U3A group met in Chester Beatty Library. 

2005:  Sheila Cullen, along with others, recognised the opportunity to start and develop a local U3A Group in Sutton Baldoyle Group   Our U3A Group is now well established and today we celebrate this occasion.

2025 – Today we celebrate 20 Years.  

OUR DEVELOPMENT SINCE THEN IS OUTLINED ON OUR WEBSITE.

 A very enjoyable meeting for all