Timely talk in Narraghmore on Winter Safety for older people

Although burglaries are down by about 80pc over pre-covid times, they are still happening, older people attending a talk in Narraghmore this morning heard, writes Brian Byrne.

In one of a series of Age-Friendly Winter Safety Talks being held around the county, Community Garda Sean O'Mahoney of Athy warned that most such incidents are happening between 5pm-11pm, when people are likely to be in their homes. "Homeowners may have their TV on loud, or be on the phone," he said. "These people will knock on the front door, and the back door, and if they don't get a response they'll take their chance and come in."

He advised some basic precautions, such as making sure that external doors are locked at all times, and if there's an alarm system which can be armed for external access while still allowing movement inside, to make sure it is turned on.

He also spoke about phone scams which are prevalent at the moment, both calls and texts. "If you don't know the person who is calling, let it go to voicemail," he said. "And if you get a text asking you to click on a link, just delete it, especially if it purports to come from a financial institution."

He was accompanied by colleagues Sergeant Ralph Holmes and Gda Tom Campbell, and Kildare Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh who gave topical pointers on staying safe on the road in dark and wintry conditions.

Carmel Cashin of KCC's Kildare Age-Friendly County Programme says these in-person meetings are very important, as opposed to getting information out online or other ways. "Most of the people here we would not meet on Zoom, for instance. And the levels of isolation have increased, especially in these rural areas."

Carmel says the Programme has deliberately decided to have a number of small-attendance talks rather than bringing larger numbers together at a more central venue. "Usually we would have only one meeting per MD, but the reality is we would have too many people. By having them every morning in all these little localities we can keep the numbers small."

Obviously that increases the workload on the organisers and contributors, but in the current situation it is much safer. The Programme is hoping to have a talk in Kilcullen at some stage, but with the increasing covid infections, that's difficult to plan at the moment.

Pictured above at the meeting are Sergeant Ralph Holmes, Tracy Keogh of Kildare Community Stories, Carmel Cashin of KCC's Kildare Age-Friendly Programme, Gda Tom Campbell, and Gda Sean O'Mahony.

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