Glenilen Farm, a family-run dairy owned and managed by husband and wife Alan and Valerie Kingston in Drimoleague, Co Cork, has partnered with Alone, the charity which supports older people to age at home, in a series of online videos which encourage younger people to ask a few simple questions to older members in their communities.
The videos, featuring Betty, Sean and Donal, feature on Facebook and Youtube, marking the start of Glenilen Farm’s commitment to Alone. The videos show Julie Galvin, aged 6, from Mallow in Co Cork, chatting to some of the older members of the West Cork community and asking them about what their life was like growing up in rural Ireland.
An example is Julie’s conversation with Betty Levis (above), from Durrus in Co. Cork. Betty used to milk cows by hand on Ilen Farm in the 1930s. Julie: “What’s the best thing about being 95?” Betty: “To think that you came over to see me today!” The collaboration aims to highlight the importance of social engagement with older members in the community.
It is also to emphasise how everyone in our society deserves the time and space to tell their own personal story, which is a basic human requirement. Glenilen Farm co-founder Alan Kingston said chatting to an older person living locally and asking them about their lives can make so much difference to someone who has perhaps not spoken to anyone else that day.
Alone CEO Seán Moynihan said 60 per cent of older people aged 80 and over in Ireland live alone. Society needs to build communities that changes the tide of ageing in Ireland and gives people the supports they need to age happily in their own homes. The series was produced and edited by Storicreative, based in The Ludgate Centre in Skibbereen.
