Anna Marie Delaney, Chief Executive Offaly County Council presents Patricia Cunningham, Offaly Libraries Age Friendly Co-ordinator with the Age Friendly Ireland award. They are joined by Jacqueline McIntyre, Senior Executive Librarian (on the left) and Honor Ridgeway, Executive Librarian (on the right)

Clara Library staff receive Age Friendly Ireland recognition award

Published: Thu 24 Jul 2025, 4:37 PM

Staff at Clara Library have been awarded the Age Friendly Ireland Judge’s Special Recognition Award 2024.

The staff received their award from Offaly County Council Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney at a special event hosted in Clara Library.

Ireland’s National Public Libraries were honoured with the Judge’s Special Recognition Award at the National Age Friendly Recognition & Achievement Awards in November 2024, acknowledging the exceptional dedication of library staff nationwide.

The judges highlighted how library teams go above and beyond to create welcoming, accessible, and relevant services tailored to the diverse and evolving needs of older people.

Offaly’s Chief Executive, Anna Marie Delaney, accepted the award on behalf of the National Library Service, in her role as Chair of the City & County Management Association (CCMA). The CCMA agreed that the trophy will be circulated to each of the libraries in the National Network of Age Friendly public libraries, in turn.

The award will take pride of place in Clara Library for a period and before being passed to the County Library Service in Longford.

“I am delighted to present this award to Clara Library in recognition of the library’s status as Offaly’s First Age Friendly Library,” Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney said.

Ms. Catherine McGuigan, Chief Officer Age Friendly Ireland, also attended the event. She thanked all the library staff in Clara for their service to the older person’s community in Clara. Age Friendly Libraries have gone through a thorough process to ensure that all aspects of their facilities and services are right for older people.

Offaly libraries play a vital role in facilitating the roll-out of many initiatives recognised by Age Friendly Ireland, the addition of the Magic Table across six of the county's libraries promoting physical activity and engagement for people with dementia and cognitive disabilities.