Pictures: Cork nursing home residents celebrate the return of tea dance

HAVEN Bay Nursing Home in Kinsale recently welcomed the return of its first tea dance event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as part of its wider Nursing Home Week celebrations.

Nursing homes across Cork hosted music-themed celebrations from Monday, August 21 to Sunday, August 27 to mark Nursing Homes Week 2023 — which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.

Celebrations traditionally include themed parties, live music, barbecues, afternoon tea, cocktail parties, pampering, quizzes, special outings, farm visits, talent contests, theatre and group performances, and historical talks.

An array of celebrations and special events were hosted across Cork nursing homes, including at Haven Bay which welcomed back its popular tea dance for the first time since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.

Activities coordinator at Haven Bay Nursing Home, Deirdre Mullins explained: “We had music and dancing and it was fantastic for the residents.

“Loads of people were dancing.

“We had in-house training ahead of that with Derek Long to teach [staff and volunteers] how to dance with people in wheelchairs so that they can also enjoy the dancing and the music and partake in the dances full term.

“We had nibbly bits also because it is a tea dance.”

Ms Mullins welcomed the fact that residents’ families, friends, and dignitaries from local communities could once again take the opportunity to participate in the celebrations with their loved ones in the nursing home

“Covid is still here, it’s not gone away but the fact we had no visitor restrictions anymore for the first time having the tea dance again in two and a half years was just phenomenal,” Ms Mullins added.

The easing of restrictions also meant that the usual spiritual services could once again return for the nursing home residents.

“We also have the Oratory up and running and the residents have a little rosary group there which is a big thing for them as well,” Ms Mullins explained.

“Our eucharistic ministers are back [in the nursing home facility] fully again which is lovely because the Covid-19 pandemic had played havoc with that as well, all of these things that you would have taken for granted.

“We also had a group of students working with us for the summer [holidays] which was fantastic,” she added.

People all throughout the community were eager to come and support the staff and residents in Haven Bay Nursing Home ahead of the celebrations to ensure that the return of the event was extra special for all.

“We had students working in catering, healthcare and maintenance so it was fantastic.

“Again, that was something we used to have and then we all had to stop those things.”

Some of the performers welcomed by Haven Bay during Nursing Home Week included the popular and talented Eamonn Jackson, Amanda Neary, local student Kylie Lehan, Denis Johnson, Finbarr Winters and James Burke, all of whom Ms Mullins said were loved by the residents and guests alike.

The nursing home also had quizzes, and ran its gardening programme, yoga, piano playing, and arts and crafts, ensuring a variety to appeal to all.