700 older people have a say in their own county — and Ireland just named it the country's most age-friendly

Westmeath's Age Friendly Programme has been running for 14 years, built around an Older People's Council with more than 700 members — older residents themselves shaping health and wellbeing initiatives and age-friendly housing in their county. Last week in Limerick it won Best Age Friendly Programme 2026 at the National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards, the first county ever to take the overall title. 'We were shocked... so we're delighted,' said programme manager Annette Barr Jordan. The awards, run by Age Friendly Ireland across all 31 local authorities, exist so that what works for older people in one place can be copied everywhere else.

SDG 11 · Sustainable cities and communities — Mechanism: institutional program