A message from the President of the IGS – Professor Rose Anne Kenny 

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to 2022

Thankfully, the country and our patients are emerging from the consequences of the past difficult two years.  Nonetheless we still have a significant challenge in the mid and longer term. The challenge is to restructure services such as older persons never again experience hardship that this pandemic has delivered.

As educators and leaders in the is field we are duty bound to work closely with our colleagues in health and social care policy to help restructure our systems.

In the coming year, we will continue to offer members and the general public, access to frequent, stimulating webinars in topic areas which will cover a wide number of relevant domains.  

Members

There will be a series of exciting initiatives including an Early Career Research Day, coupled with seminars on education and training. The ‘Road to the IGS’ will provide useful guidance for those planning to submit abstracts and present at this year’s Annual Scientific Conference in November. More details of this will follow soon.

Our flagship event is of course the IGS Annual and Scientific Meeting 2022 which will return to the Slieve Russell Hotel in Cavan on the 3^rd and 4^th November. This conference will be held in partnership with Ireland East Hospital Group and will be a collaborative one, with the participation of our counterparts from Northern Ireland from both the British Geriatrics Society and the British Society of Gerontology.  

Public Lectures

Last year our public lectures proved very popular with over 18,000 people logging on to the first webinar.  This year, we are delighted to offer an equally varied programme of talks, the dates of which will be confirmed in due course:

• ‘You are as young as you feel’,
• ‘Life After Retirement’
• ‘What you can do for your brain health’
• ‘What we can learn about diet from our ancestors’.  

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the dedicated work you do on behalf of the older person and your input and contribution to the IGS and of course, finally we wish you a very happy, personally and professionally fulfilling 2022. 

Dr Ailbe Beirne

Members of the Society were saddened to learn of the recent death of a colleague in Altnagelvin Hospital; Dr Ailbe Beirne who died on 23rd December 2021.  I had the privilege of working with Ailbe and thereafter enjoyed his friendship.

He worked as a Consultant in Altnagelvin from 1980 and was chairman of Medical Staff. Ailbhe was a powerful advocate for Geriatric medicine and older people throughout his career and in his role within BMA he was very much a ‘doctor's doctor.’

Ailbhe was active in setting up the ‘Foyle Hospice’ in Derry where he served as a board member for a long number of years.  He also examined for the Royal Colleges for many years, including several years after his retirement.

A true giant of geriatric medicine, both clinically and in physical stature, he will be remembered fondly and missed sadly by his friends and colleagues who knew him and worked with him.

Rose Anne Kenny, President of the Irish Gerontological Society