Tess Martin talks to Nancy Darcy who is a member of The Third Age Foundation and has moved out of Dublin to live in Co. Meath.
A 2006 MORI Irish Times survey showed that, contrary to popular opinion, many people in their sixties, seventies and beyond are happy and content with their lot. Nancy Darcy, seventy-five, exemplifies this perfectly as a busy, active woman, still contributing to her community while living in the midst of her family.
Coolock to Summerhill
Nancy and Paddy Darcy moved from Coolock, north Dublin to Summerhill, a village in Co. Meath, three and half years ago. ‘My mother was from Meath so I knew the village years ago from passing through it, and then our daughter moved there and we got to know it very well. When she moved locally, we bought her house,’ says Nancy.
What the couple hadn’t known was that they were joining a vibrant community which places a particular value on older people. Summerhill is the birthplace of the Third Age Foundation, a unique community development which offers residents in the village and a wide catchment area, the opportunity to meet, learn, volunteer and enjoy this season of their lives. Nancy and Paddy became involved right away and today their days are busy and fulfilled.
Choir
‘I get up at nine o’clock and have breakfast at home. On Mondays it is choir practice in the centre,’ says Nancy, as she thinks through her week. She is a member of the Third Age Choir, an activity she greatly enjoys. ‘I always sang. I was in a music society in Coolock, so I was delighted to get the opportunity to sing again. We now have a new conductor and we’re expanding our repertoire which is great,’ she says.
Nancy and her husband have their lunch each weekday in the village community centre. ‘At the beginning it was a brilliant way of making friends and meeting people. The meals are beautiful and excellent value at €3.50 for a four-course lunch,’ she says. It means that Nancy cooks very little these days. ‘All my life, I’ve been cooking dinners, and baking apple tarts. We had five children. They’re now aged from fifty-four to forty-one. And my cooking days are over,’ she says firmly.
Back to school
On Tuesday morning, she goes to the local primary school as one of a group of eight adults who teach sixth class pupils to knit. It’s all part of the Trauma Teddy project, one of the many initiatives of the Third Age Centre. The group knit teddy bears for the HSE ambulance crews who use the soft toys to help calm children being brought to hospital.
The young patients get to keep their teddies, while young and old knitters alike benefit from the contact. ‘It’s lovely. We get to know each other, and when you come in they rush up and hug you. We tell them about our schooldays and how different they were. We love having contact with the children in this way.’
English teacher
On Tuesday nights, Nancy is back at the Third Age Foundation, again wearing a tutor hat. She is a volunteer in the Third Age Foundation’s Fáilte Isteach project, in which members give their time to teach English to non-Irish nationals living and working locally. It’s an activity Nancy shares with her daughter, Bernie, who has a TEFL diploma (Teaching English as a Foreign Language,) and is a project mentor.
Each week, there is a practical theme – going to the doctor, shopping, finding out bus times, a job interview, around which conversation between tutor and student builds. ‘It was daunting at first. I didn’t know if I could do it, or if I had the patience. But we had guidance at the start. I love it now. I teach a young Chinese couple who work in a local restaurant and they bring their tiny baby along to the classes. It’s very rewarding.’
She laughs and says she has a free day on Wednesday. Thursday morning, it’s drama practice morning at the centre which she also enjoys. ‘We’re learning a sketch at the moment which we will put on for the residents of St. Joseph’s, (a nearby hospital). ‘I love the bit of singing and acting.’
Nancy says she will have something light in the evening like a sandwich or a salad. At home in the evenings, she will watch television. The Soaps! I love the soaps! I knit. We’re knitting for the children of Chernobyl – gloves, hats. We’re filling a truck to send over.’
Senior Help Line
Once a month, she works as a volunteer on The Senior Help Line, a peer telephone listening service for older people which began in Summerhill nine years ago. It’s now a national service, which has received over 15,000 calls since its inception, with numbers growing each year. Today almost 200 older people in thirteen centres nationwide volunteer their time to provide a daily listening ear.
‘I think it’s a very important service. You meet all sorts of people at the end of the line. Some are very lonely, and there can be different kinds of problems. We are trained to listen which helps them to open up, and sometimes we can have a bit of a laugh and I think they go away feeling a bit lighter.’
Faith and family
Nancy says her religion is very important to her. ‘Every aspect of it. I wouldn’t miss Mass on Sunday and when I was living in Dublin, I went to Mass every morning. My religion is part of me, part of who I am.’
Three of their children live in America and the couple have grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This, says Nancy, is a very good time of their lives. And to prove that you never stop learning, she has just started computer classes at the Third Age Foundation which runs an Internet Cafe on Monday nights.
‘We are extremely happy in Summerhill. I couldn’t explain exactly what it means to us to be living here and belong. We still have contact with our friends in Dublin and I was up recently at a party. But I don’t miss Dublin. This is definitely home.’
This article first appeared in The Messenger (July 2007), a publication of the Irish Jesuits.
