Role of Active Retirement.

For most people , Retirement creates a huge void in their lives. You lose your identity, your sense of belonging, and often you lose touch with the friends you’ve made throughout your working life.
Retirement often coincides with the death of a partner and the “empty nest syndrome”. This results in a lot of loneliness, isolation and depression.
The A.R.A., for me, meant a new beginning. It filled that huge void in my life and provided a new focus. As a member of the A.R.A. I was helped to lead a full, active life once again.

Present

With the growth of our association in Ballinasloe, the members come from all walks of life. You have the opportunity to use the expertise gained during your working life, and to form new friendships. You can avail of the wide range of activities, holidays, outings and socials, creative and learning programmes, sports and community work.

Future

The role of the A.R.A will become more important in the future, especially in the field of communication.
With letter-writing a thing of the past, the closing of the Post Offices and small town banking facilities and the corner grocery store, not to mention the demise of the local pubs, the personal touch and friendly chat over the counter has long gone. The sound of the human voice on the phone has now been drowned out by texting. Email and Internet can now do shopping and all business transactions, in silence. Gone too, are neighbourly visits and the little pieces of gossip exchanged over the garden fence.
Hence, the importance of the A.R.A. in our future. This is a place where we can escape from this “press-button” world .A place to enjoy the friendly “cuppa”, to chat and share anxieties. We can also learn to go froward, at our own pace, into this fast world of technology.
By Chris O'Flynn EMAIL ADDRESS chrisflynn99@yahoo.com