Photo: By Andy Spearman
Pictured (from left): Andy Spearman, DDS4OP trishaws at Oldbridge House, are Noele McEvoy, Stella Matthews, Breda McEvoy, Bridget Moore, Mary Lynch, and Josephine Campbell.
There was great excitement in Dominic’s Park last Wednesday as Clogherhead woman Noele McEvoy treated five of her best friends, Stella Matthews, Breda McEvoy, Bridget Moore, Mary Lynch and Josephine Campbell, to a surprise day out with a difference.
Noele did not say where she was bringing her friends or what they’d be doing so they were probably a bit surprised and perhaps disturbed when they turned into the gate for the children’s playground at Dominic’s Park. Then they saw three trishaws belonging to Drogheda and District Services for Older People (DDS4OP), each with it’s own pilot, waiting to bring them for a spin along the banks of the River Boyne and out to historic Oldbridge House for a cup of tea and a visit to the beautiful gardens.
Drogheda and District Services for Older People (DDS4OP) is one of Drogheda’s success stories. Ever since it was established in December 2010 it has used the skills and energy of retired people and other volunteers to provide a huge range of essential services to older people, many of them living alone.
Their “Care and Repair” maintenance programme and the “Good Morning Drogheda” programme by which volunteers check in with elderly people via daily phone calls are two of the vital and better-known services offered by DDS4OP.
The Trishaw service was launched with great fanfare in 2019 and it proved to be an immediate hit. Sadly however, Covid put a stop to their gallop in 2020 and it has been slow to recover its popularity. It is primarily used by clients of nursing homes and other such organisations, but it is also available to anyone looking to enjoy a day out with a difference.
Noele and her friends certainly had a really enjoyable couple of hours being whisked out along the riverbank with their expert “pilots” entertaining them along the way with a mixture of their knowledge of local history, bird life and their sometimes-funny stories.
“The girls and I all had a really great time” Noele said. “I can’t recommend it highly enough. To see the smiles on their faces was really fantastic. Bridget, who has just turned 90, said she couldn’t wait to get home to tell her family about her exciting day.”
For more information about Drogheda and District Services for Older People or to book a Trishaw trip you can find them on Facebook, call into their office at Unit 7, The Haymarket, Dyer Street, Drogheda.
Alternatively you can phone 041 9847764 or 086 377 2777.
