The annual Athlone elder persons party is on this Sunday afternoon in the Athlone Springs hotel at 4pm, with tickets priced at just a fiver.
This annual do will feature music and dance from such local luminaries as Brendan Shine, Tom Allen, and the Bonker Boys for those that wish to cut a rug, and ample refreshments for those who’d prefer a bit of a chinwag.
“Oh, they’ve done it the last few years for us now. They don’t mind doing this when they see the enjoyment the people get out of it,” said Garda Aisling Brady of the organising committee .
The function is being organised by local community gardaí in an effort to say thank you to our older generation, and to help foster an increased sense of community amongst a section of society that the rest of us has tended to marginalise in recent years.
This is the first year the party has been held in the new year, and this is to minimise the chances of it clashing with anything in the crowded calendar of December.
Five years on from the original event, and the organisers are anticipating a sizeable crowd of around 300 people.
“We wanted to leave it til after Christmas this year. You know the January blues, when there’s less to look forward to? That’s why we’re holding it now,” explained Garda Brady.
Tickets are officially available only from the community gardaí at the station, although Garda Brady did say: “We won’t turn anyone away from the door”.
She also wanted to thank the Athlone Springs hotel, and all people around the town who have donated spot prizes for the evening, saying there were “far too many too mention”.
