About a million people in the Republic are over 50 - and enjoy active and fulfilled lives. But a lingering ageism can often hamper this happy time, reports Suzanne Breen

Bertie Ahern is eligible. So are Mary Harney and Mary McAleese. Pat Kenny and Eamon Dunphy could go, as could Dermot Desmond and Michael Smurfit.

Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, Van Morrison and Brian Kerr all fit the bill. But how many famous faces will be at the Over 50s Show at the RDS this weekend? Not many, admits John Low, one of the organisers. But he isn't worried. More than 15,000 visitors are expected to attend the lifestyle event, which is in its fifth year.

"It's positive and upbeat and addresses the interests and needs of older people," he says. There will be creative-writing and computer classes. Experts to advise on finance and gardening. A huge range of holiday options.

Pfizer, which manufactures Viagra, will discuss men's health. Cholesterol screening, as well as sight and hearing tests, will be available. A company offering a "pay for your own funeral" scheme has a stand. A tarot reader will be on hand for those hoping for a lengthy and lively future.

The "grey euro" means the days when business viewed the older generation only in terms of stairlifts and incontinence pads are gone. One in four of the Republic's citizens - a million people - is over 50. Our population is ageing faster than that of any other EU state. It's predicted that by 2015 the over-55 age group will have doubled.

Life expectancy is now 79 for women and 73 for men. We are not only living longer but also staying fitter. Fiftysomething Low says the older generation isn't prepared to settle down in front of the television. Free from financial responsibilities, such as mortgages and rearing children, they're having fun. "They have a lot of spare time, and many have a high disposable income. They find this period of their lives liberating."

He denies that his show is aimed at the well-heeled and that working-class people, for whom early retirement is impossible, will find it irrelevant. "We attract all sorts: visitors from Merrion Road and coachloads from the bingo clubs."

Peter Prendergast, a novelist, is looking forward to taking a creative-writing class for older people. "Younger people can be restricted in their writing, because they're scared to reveal too much of themselves. I think older people will be less inhibited. The young are sometimes frightened of the criticism that can follow when their work is published. Older people generally don't give a damn." Some over-50s won't be attracted to the event for the same reasons some young people dislike the idea of "youth culture": they reject categorisation by age.

But Eddie Cassidy of the Federation of Active Retired Associations, which has 17,000 members, will be there. The stereotype of the cantankerous old codger or the sweet, pathetic granny doesn't reflect reality, he says. "Members of one of our clubs in Gorey were having such a great time that a 47-year-old asked to join. She was told to wait another eight years," he says.

Despite the positive lifestyle of many over-50s, ageism is the last "acceptable" prejudice. Our ageing population is seen as a problem. "There are too many older people. They are living too long and costing too much. This attitude must be challenged," says Paul Murray of Age Action Ireland. "I asked a class of 16-year-olds this week for the first thing that entered their heads when they thought of old people. 'Cranky', 'crazy', 'frail', 'pathetic' were the replies. It took a long time, and some prompting, before anything positive was said." The organisation is running Positive Ageing Week from September 28th to October 4th.

The State is currently considering the issue of a mandatory retirement age. Age Action and the Equality Authority are calling for its abolition. As in the US, people should be free to decide the matter for themselves, campaigners argue.

There are other discrimination issues. Age Action says some car-hire companies turn away customers over 60. The authority is supporting cases against insurance firms that won't cover older people.

Our society is largely run by people over 50. But if you haven't achieved success and power by that age, or if you decide to step outside the system for a while, life can be difficult.

George Reynolds, who is now 52, won the Young Scientist competition in 1968. He went on to set up a business in the mineral industry. He returned to university to do a master's degree in business administration, but since graduating, in 2000, he has been unable to get a job.

"I've a wealth of experience. I speak French and Spanish and am learning Polish. I secure interviews for about one in 40 jobs I apply for. The recruitment agencies don't want women over 40 or men over 50.

"They think they'll have to pay us more. They think we won't understand computers or fit into office culture. You apply for jobs you know you can walk and they don't want you. Older people today are being forced out of employment like married women were decades ago." Reynolds currently does part-time consultancy work. "Men over 50 find not working much more upsetting than women do because so much of our identity relates to our jobs. Men are more likely to find what is on offer, like stacking shelves, unacceptable.

"Suicide rates for men over 50 rise because the terrors of life can outweigh the terrors of death. They look ahead and what they see is miserable." In Ireland there is a perception of over-50s as "old farts" that isn't present in mainland Europe, Asia or America, he says.

Rita McNamara, president of the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland, didn't mind celebrating her 60th birthday on Monday. "My life at 60 is very different from my mother's at 40. It was all dark clothes then.

"I had a heart bypass eight years ago, and I'm delighted to be still tearing around the country. Bridge has been many older people's salvation. You can be deaf and have a Zimmer frame and still play. I don't feel anybody treats me differently than when I was younger. If they did, it would be their problem. I'll continue doing my own thing."