Mayo nursing home hosts its owns Summer Fest
Anthony Leonard shows some of the remarkable photographs from the Leonard Collection to Padraig Corrigan during the Summer Fest at the Sonas Nursing Home in Belmullet.
When some residents at a Belmullet nursing home were unable to attend the local festivals last month, staff brought the festivals to them.
The first annual ‘Sonas Summer Fest’ took place from August 12 to 16 at Sonas Nursing Home, Belmullet and featured a nostalgic Heritage Day, music and dog shows.
Rita Scott, a recreational therapist at Sonas Nursing Home, told the Western People that the event, the first of its kind at Sonas, was a momentous success.
“The residents all really, really enjoyed it. Festival time was coming up and I thought it was a pity our residents couldn’t go.
“There were events on in the town but mobility is a big problem for some of our residents so I thought, why not bring the events to the people?”
That is exactly what Rita and the staff at Sonas Nursing Home in Belmullet did. The festival kicked off on August 12 with a Heritage Day featuring an amazing display of vintage items provided by Tommy Deane. Music in the afternoon was provided by Trad Lib.
“The Heritage Day was fantastic. The items on display brought back so many special memories and stories. We really want to thank Tommy for providing us with this experience.
“The team were fantastic, they gave it their all, joining in with the fun and even dressed up to match the theme of the day,” said Rita.
The second day saw a dog show taking place and kitchen supervisor Ann Monaghan was busy in the kitchen whipping up hot dogs for tea. Rita said this was among the most exciting of the days.
“Anything with animals and kids is always really exciting because they are both something they wouldn’t see a lot of here. Family members came in to celebrate the festival as well, it was a great social day.”
On the third day, there was a ‘good oul Irish sing-song’ with live music by Sylvie Golden. Rita said the days with music were particularly evocative.
“The music days were fantastic, music is so powerful. Particularly in cases of dementia, music can really evoke so many emotions and memories.”
On day four, there was a presentation of old photos of Belmullet and Erris in the early 1900s taken by JJ Leonard and presented by his grandson Anthony Leonard. The photos were on display at Aras Inis Gluaire and in another fine example of bringing the festival to Sonas, Anthony brought the collection down on a USB stick to display to residents.
The festival was concluded on the fifth day with a Mass by Fr Tony Kavanagh. Overall, the festival was a huge success.
“It was really special for everyone here, including the staff but particularly for the residents and their families," said Rita. "It really shows that you can still live a fun-filled life in a nursing home.
“We’re already looking forward to running this again next summer,” she said.
