TILDA brings its research evidence on successful ageing to Longford
Posted on: 12 March 2019
The rain didn’t deter a huge audience turning up to find out about the secrets of ageing well in Longford last night from Trinity’s Professor Rose Anne Kenny. TILDA and the GAA kicked off their partnership in Longford to present the first in the series of the ‘secrets of positive ageing’ nationwide seminars. TILDA is bringing its research right to the heart of communities around the country over the next 18 months to inform people of the factors that make for a really good retirement.
Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Principal Investigator with TILDA is delivering all seminars around the country over the coming 18 months. Professor Kenny spoke to a full house about the evidence obtained from Trinity College’s Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA).
TILDA is a large-scale, nationally representative, longitudinal study on ageing in Ireland, the overarching aim of which is to make Ireland the best place in the world to grow old. TILDA collects information on all aspects of health, economic and social circumstances from people aged 50 and over in a series of data collection waves once every two years.
Over 8,500 people aged 50 and older were randomly selected to participate in the TILDA research and continue to be repeatedly interviewed and examined regarding many aspects of their lives including happiness, physical and mental health, financial circumstances, quality of life, and perceptions of ageing. The Donegal event will highlight themes including the importance of exercise, diet, social connectedness, purpose, and location.
Professor Kenny is the one of the country’s leading authorities on ageing and last night delivered some of the secrets of ageing well, including the importance of friendship, a good social life, a sense of belonging, relaxation, that optimists live longer and that life continues to get better after the age of 50 for almost another 30 years!
Professor Kenny said: “It was really wonderful to see so many people in Longford last night for the first in this nationwide series of talks. It shows that there is a real appetite to hear the findings of Irish research. So many people want to know how to age well and live a long, healthy and happy lives. TILDA is in a position now to provide tips on this based on our 10 years of work in this field. We are grateful for the warm reception we received in Longford particularly from Brid and Eugene McGee, who is our Longford GAA Ambassador.”
“TILDA is one of the most important research studies in Ireland which helps to better understand why bodies and brains age and how we can best ensure long and prosperous lives, for today’s adults and for future generations. This unique partnership with the GAA will ensure that new research from TILDA and other international studies is quickly communicated to all age groups. As a research institution we are very excited about taking this new knowledge out to the Irish people.”
“We appreciate everyone who came along on a rainy night in Longford. We are looking forward to the next event in Limerick on the 20th March,” she said.
This exciting partnership includes the involvement of a number of GAA ambassadors who are supporting the seminars around the country, at a local level, encouraging those in the respective communities to attend, and speaking about their own experience of ageing positively.
Eugene McGee, manager of the Offaly All Ireland winning team of 1982 and former editor of the Longford Leader was in attendance last night.