Watch Cork City's Lord Mayor sing to welcome Ireland's first dementia-inclusive shopping centre

Mahon Point has become Ireland’s first dementia-inclusive shopping centre 

The halls were alive with the sound of music as Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Kieran McCarthy officially launched the first dementia-inclusive shopping centre in Ireland on Tuesday. Picture: Chani Anderson

A once-fraught trip to the shops just got a little easier for Noreen O’Callaghan and her devoted carer, Helen Kehoe, with the launch of Ireland's first dementia-inclusive shopping centre.

Noreen, 79, who was diagnosed with dementia over a decade ago, burst into song with the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, at Mahon Point shopping centre in Cork on Tuesday as the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland (ASI) began its first day of specialised dementia-inclusive training sessions for its retail staff to help them provide a welcoming and positive shopping environment to people living with dementia, and their families.

Helen said it will make a big difference to their lives.

“Noreen's condition has evolved slowly over the last 10 years or so but she is more profoundly affected now," she said.

“Twice she has wandered off — once when I left the key in the door at home, and another time when I was going to a garage and asked her to just walk behind, and when I turned around she was gone.

“Thank God it worked out okay on both occasions, but now I don’t take any chance with her. She has no personal freedom left anymore really.

“I find when we come into shops, I am continuously explaining to staff that she has dementia, especially when she may behave inappropriately, or tell them long wandering stories.

“But this initiative will take a huge weight off my shoulders, it will provide a real sense of security and comfort, knowing that staff have training to make them more conscious of dementia, more tuned in.

Noreen O’Callaghan and Helen Kehoe. Picture: Chani Anderson

“People like Noreen still need to be active as much as they can, and we need to encourage that activity, and give them as good a quality of life as possible and this will certainly help.” 

Cllr McCarthy told guests that the city’s coat of arms on the mayoral chain, which dates from 1787, bears the Latin inscription, Statio Bene Fide Carinis, which translates as ‘safe harbour for ships’.

“But some people have re-interpreted it as safe harbour for people, and what we are launching here this morning is about creating a safe place for people,” he said.

Mahon Point shopping centre has over 60 shops, an Omniplex cinema, several restaurants and coffee shops. It also offers a weekly farmers market.

Its staff will undergo training and workshops to understand dementia and how to spot the signs and symptoms of dementia. They will also learn communication skills to communicate better with people with dementia, and skills on how to create a dementia-inclusive community.

The ASI will also deliver refresher training twice a year to maintain the skills of existing staff, and upskill new hires.

Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Kieran McCarthy and Mahon Point general manager Justin Young at the launch. Picture: Chani Anderson

ASI’s head of operations, Siobhan O’Connor, said it will help create a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment for people with dementia, and their families, and crucially, remove the stigma of dementia.

“It takes a society to move forward, it’s a community response to make this happen and once we get out there, and start doing it in more places, then people with dementia, and their families, will be able to get out more with confidence,” she said.

Mahon Point’s Adam Isherwood praised the buy-in to this initiative from all the individual retailers, especially in the run-up to their busy Christmas shopping period.