Healthy Longford

Healthy Longford focuses on creating a county where everyone can enjoy good physical and mental health. It does this through supporting community actions to improve our health and wellbeing. It is part of the national Healthy Ireland government-led strategy.

Healthy Longford aims to: 

• Increase the number of people who are healthy at all stages of life
• Reduce health inequalities
• Protect the public from threats to health and wellbeing
• Create an environment where every individual and sector of society can play their part in achieving a Healthy Ireland

Longford County Council is responsible for administering and awarding this funding in County Longford. Our Healthy Longford Coordinator and Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) are responsible for the planning and implementation of funded projects. It is supported by the Department of Health and Pobal. 

Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan 2021-2025

The Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan 2021-2025 provides a clear roadmap of how we can continue to work together to bring about good health, access to services, healthy environments, and the promotion of resilience and to ensure that everyone can enjoy physical and mental, health and wellbeing, to their full potential.

Healthy Ireland Fund

Under the Healthy Ireland Strategy, the Healthy Ireland Fund (HIF) supports local authorities, including Longford County Council, to deliver actions to improve health and wellbeing. These include many community-based initiatives. 

Different rounds of the HIF have been delivered in recent years. 

Round 4, the latest round of the HIF, runs from June 2022 to Wednesday, 31 December 2025. It has a more outcome-led approach.

In Longford, this outcome-led approach is informed by feedback gathered locally which showed two highest priority areas:

• High-priority area 1: Lifestyle and Behaviour Risk
  This has resulted in prioritising funding for physical activity actions. Specifically, actions funding under HIF Round 4 in Longford will aim to 'Increase in % of adults and children meeting physical activity guidelines'
• High-priority area 2: Wellbeing Factors
  This priority area has resulted in prioritising funding for mental health actions. Specifically, actions funded under HIF Round 4 in Longford will aim to 'Increase in individual’s level of positive mental health as per Energy and Vitality Index All'
  
  

Healthy Longford News

Period Dignity 

Healthy Longford's Period Dignity campaign provides free period products throughout County Longford, including at the following locations:

• Longford County Council buildings including our offices on Great Water Street, Camlin Court and Market Square
• All six County Longford Libraries
• Longford Women’s Link
• Bridgeways Family Resource Centre, Ballymahon
• Longford EDI (Employment Development and Information) Centre
• Longford Community Resources Clg
• Community Houses in Ardnacassa and MacEoin House

This initiative is aligned with a recommendation in the National Strategy for Women and Girls Committee's draft ‘Period Poverty in Ireland’ Report.  

Feedback is welcome on this initiative. Please complete the Period Dignity Support 2024 Survey. 

Email healthylongford@longfordcoco.ie if you wish for any further information.

For this initiative, Longford County Council secured €8,000 in Period Poverty-related funding from the Department of Health. This is in addition to funding received in 2022 and 2023. 

Healthy Longford newsletter

Healthy Longford newsletter alerts you to new physical and mental health initiatives in County Longford.

Sign up for the Healthy Longford newsletter.

Read the latest Healthy Longford newsletter.

If you have an event or initiative that could be included in the Healthy Longford newsletter, email healthylongford@longfordcoco.ie.

Longford Breastfeeding Project 

Longford Breastfeeding Project aims to support local businesses and other organisations so that they can become better able to help breastfeeding mothers.

This includes creating more comfortable environments for mothers who need to breastfeed when out and about. It may be as simple as training employees to be better able to help mothers, or letting other patrons know that babies may be breastfed there. 

This is part of the national Breastfeeding-Friendly Initiative.

For more information on this, email healthylongford@longfordcoco.ie.

HELLO, How Are You?

The Mental Health Ireland HELLO, How Are You? campaign aims to inspire people to ask how others are feeling. It is hoped that this will open up conversations which can improve connections between people and build a sense of belonging. Should a person indicate feelings of needing mental health support, the signposting of local services is encouraged as part of these 'HELLO, How Are You?' conversations. 

As part of this campaign, two HELLO, How Are You? coffee mornings recently took place in County Longford at McEoin Community House and Ardnacassa Community House. 

Find out more about this national initiative on MentalHealthIreland.ie.

Trauma Informed Care Conference

Healthy Longford was represented at the recent Trauma Informed Care Conference organised by CYPSC (Children and Young People's Service Committees) Longford-Westmeath.

Healthy Longford was also part of the planning committee and a funder for this important conference. 

Further information

For further information on Healthy Longford, email healthylongford@longfordcoco.ie or call Healthy Longford Coordinator Laura McHugh on 087 277 78 43.