World Heart Day is both an international and national day of awareness of heart disease and stroke.  The Irish Heart Foundation has used World Heart Day as an opportunity to highlight the health benefits of walking.  This year, the Irish Heart Foundation wants to have in the region of 750 walks nationwide to get heart's pumping.

This is a great opportunity to organise a World Heart Day walk in your area.  As well as encouraging hundreds of local walks around the country, the Irish Heart Foundation is hosting a 5K World Heart Day Walk in Dublin's Phoenix Park on September 26th which is guaranteed to be a fun, family day out - so anyone in the area please go along.

This is a great opportunity to combine both physical activity and community spirit.  This year the Irish Heart Foundation is asking everyone who takes part in a walk on World Heart Dat to raise some much needed funds through sponsorship for their walk.

As the national charity fighting heart disease and stroke, we rely on charitable donations for 90% of our income.  If you would consider fundraising we would love to hear from you - no donation is too big or too small.

For more information contact Gráinne Kennedy, Activity Events Fundraiser on 01-6685001 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

GRANTS SCHEME LAUNCHED TO ENCOURAGE SPORT & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BY OLDER PEOPLE. €350,000
• €350,000 available to clubs & groups countrywide
• Almost €3 million distributed since 2001
• Over 5000 grants allocated to date
• Call for applications for grants to be in by 30 September 2010
• It's never too late to start to exercise - World Health Organisation.
• Go for Life, an Age & Opportunity initiative funded by the Irish Sports Council is the National Programme for Sport and Physical Activity for Older People. 

Today, Friday 27th of August, Age & Opportunity and the Irish Sports Council announced that €350,000 has been allocated under the tenth National Grant Scheme for Sport and Physical Activity for Older People. The Scheme promotes opportunities for older people to participate in sport and physical activity.  Applications for grants are requested from Clubs and Groups countrywide.

Any local group seeking to provide increased opportunities for older people to participate in sport and physical activity may apply for a grant.  Grants range from €350-€850 and are typically used by groups to purchase equipment or so that members may explore a new sporting activity.  In previous years successful applicants have included active retirement associations, senior citizens clubs, ICA guilds, sports clubs, day centres and community centres in 26 counties.

Go For Life encourages greater participation by older people in sports and physical activities at a time in life when regular exercise is hugely beneficial.  Participation in sport and physical activity is proven to improve quality of life and health for all ages but older people particularly benefit from leading an active lifestyle.  Contrary to the widespread view that older people should “do less”, The World Health Organisation. strongly recommends that people increase their level of physical activity as they get older.

The mission of the Go for Life Programme is to get more older people more active more often. A recent research report by the second IPSOS MORI, commissioned by Go for Life and the Irish Sports Council found that 58% of older adults lead sedentary lifestyles.  These grants aim to try and introduce some of these people to a sport or physical activity they might enjoy and keep up.

The Go for Life Programme was developed by Age & Opportunity and the Irish Sports Council and is overseen by a Steering Committee that also includes representatives of Active Retirement Ireland, the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and the Health Service Executive. The National Grant Scheme is a central element of the Go for Life Programme which also provides workshops for members of older people’s groups around the country to give them information and skills which enable them to lead sport and physical activity sessions within their groups.

Application Forms are now available from Go for Life c/o Age & Opportunity Marino Institute of Education, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9. Phone 01 805 7733 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Details and Application Forms are also available from Age & Opportunity at
www.age&opportunity.ie and from the Irish Sports Council at www.irishsportscouncil.ie. Closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm on 30 September 2010.

Note for Editors: Go for Life is the National Programme for Sport and Physical Activity for Older People.  The programme aims to get older people more active, more often.  As well as distributing grants, Go for Life offers workshops around the country in which older people can learn to lead others in physical activities – such as walking and dancing, and recreational sports – like bowling, petanque, bocce and kurling. Go for Life is an Age & Opportunity initiative funded by the Irish Sports Council.

Some Physical Activity Facts:
The benefits of physical activity can be enjoyed even if regular practice starts late in life. For people of all ages, physical activity improves quality of life in many ways:
• It can help relieve the disability and pain associated with common diseases among older people (like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, and hypertension.)
• It can also contribute greatly to the management of some mental disorders such as depression.
• It improves self-confidence and self-sufficiency—qualities that are the foundation of psychological well-being.

Should your club/organisation require assistance in completing application form please contact us in Laois Sports Partnership for assistance (057) 8671248

Red Alert
A new campaign to raise awareness among women of how to protect themselves from the risk of heart disease and stroke begins this September led by the Irish Heart Foundation and supported by the Health Service Executive.

In 2008 nearly 5,000 Irish women died from heart disease and stroke but unfortunately, as in other countries, most women remain unaware of their risk of this major killer. In fact research shows that Irish women deem breast cancer to be a bigger health risk - 60% of those surveyed believe breast cancer is the biggest killer among women at 731 female deaths in 2008 compared to nearly seven times more deaths from heart disease and stroke in the same year.

Worryingly, only 18% of women correctly identified heart disease as the main cause of female death. Another cause of concern is that 37% of women also believed heart disease to be an exclusively 'male disease' even though just as many women die from it as men.

This September the Irish Heart Foundation aims to increase awareness of these issues using the international brand for heart disease and women - Go Red for Women. As the national charity fighting heart disease and stroke, our aim is to help women understand their risk of cardiovascular disease through a month-long awareness and educational campaign. 

The campaign will focus on specific issues for women including healthy lifestyle behaviours, recognition of signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke recognition of signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke and appropriate management of high blood pressure and high cholesterol as well as the impact of menopause on women’s heart health.  For further information contact the Irish Heart Foundation or log onto www.irishheart.ie/goredforwomen