Age & Opportunity

Age & Opportunity are the leading NGO providing nationwide programmes in creativity, physical activity and personal development so that all older people can have a rich and varied life in Ireland. Our work is primarily funded by the HSE, Sport Ireland, the Arts Council of Ireland and the Atlantic Philanthropies.

Age & Opportunity’s mission is to inspire and empower older people to live healthy and fulfilling lives and to influence policy to ensure the active participation of older people in ways that benefit our communities and wider society.

Through our Arts and Culture Programme, we foster and inspire creativity among older people, mainly through our Bealtaine Festival, Ireland's largest collaborative arts festival, celebrating creativity as we age. We promote the skills, experiences and exposure that can lead to a rich creative life for all older people. We also support the arts community to continue to work and to inspire and train other artists to engage in the area of creative ageing and intergenerational work.

In sport and physical activity, through our Go For Life Programme, we get ‘more older people, more active more often’ as the Go for Life slogan runs. We do this through the use of peer-led interventions to create increased sport and physical activities for people.

In our Active Citizenship and Lifelong Learning Programme, we provide innovative learning opportunities to older people and to agencies delivering services to older people. Our primary focus is on facilitated learning experiences in areas such as community participation, age friendly environments and accredited vocational training.