Westmeath wins top award at national age-friendly recognition event
Age Friendly Westmeath, the multi-agency initiative led by Westmeath County Council, won the overall prize for 'Best Age Friendly Programme' at a national awards event last night (Thursday).
The local programme received the honour at the 2026 National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards, which took place in Limerick.
Organisers said Westmeath's programme was recognised for "its strong community engagement, innovation and consistent delivery for older people".
The programme in the Lake County was hailed as "an early adopter of the age-friendly process" and one which "has an Older People’s Council membership of more than 700, a strong programme of activity, flagship health and wellbeing initiatives, and a clear commitment to age-friendly housing".
The winners were announced at the tenth annual ceremony organised by Age Friendly Ireland, the national body supporting Ireland’s 31 local authorities to deliver the Government’s vision of an Age Friendly Ireland.
Hosted by Limerick city and county council at the Limerick Strand Hotel, and MC'd by Marty Whelan of RTÉ's Lyric FM, the National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards are designed to celebrate practical initiatives improving everyday life for older people.
The organisers noted that the awards this year were an "Ireland's EU Associated Presidency" event. These are events which are organised independently of Ireland's presidency of the council of the European Union but which "align with the themes and priorities of Ireland's EU Presidency".
Speaking about Age Friendly Westmeath's success in the 'Best Age Friendly Programme' category, John Kearns, CEO of award sponsor IPB Insurance, said: "Westmeath is a deserving winner, demonstrating the kind of strong local leadership, sustained community engagement and practical delivery that can make a real difference to older people.
"As Ireland’s only mutual insurer, we see the value of this work across the country, and Westmeath is an excellent example of what can be achieved through long-term commitment and collaboration.”
Catherine McGuigan, chief officer of Age Friendly Ireland, added: "These awards demonstrate what Age Friendly action looks like in practice.
"The winning projects have listened to older people, identified what can improve everyday life and turned that insight into practical action.
"By recognising these initiatives nationally, we want to celebrate their impact while encouraging other communities and organisations to learn from them, adapt them and build on what works," Ms McGuigan said.