It's Tuesday morning in the tiny village of Ramsgrange, Co Wexford, and the older citizens are arriving by hired bus from rural areas for miles around. They're dressed up to the nines and excitedly looking forward to their weekly day out.
Patrick Joseph Cummins, from Ballyhack, is 87 and blind. He's been on the sea in small boats for most of his life, fishing in the Waterford Harbour region for herring and salmon. Later he worked on the 24ft timber ferry boat that plied back and forth across the estuary from his village.
He remembers saving two men's lives, more years ago than he can recall. But the conditions are etched on his mind: "The weather was very bad, blowing a gale from the south-west."
Annie, Bridie and Kitty are three sisters now living several miles from each other. They worked in England for years but are now happy to be back in their home place. "We had our ups and downs, but lovely memories," said Bridie.
All three went to school in the building they are visiting today. The former national school is now the St Louis Day Care Centre, converted by community initiative and effort into a splendid venue that combines the functions of social club, craftwork guild and basic nursing facility.
In this tranquil and beautiful corner of south-west Co Wexford the voluntary group, Senior Citizens Concern Ltd, is setting a model for other rural areas on community co-operation to assist the aged and the lonely.
The group acquired the old school for a modest price from the St Louis nuns who now help enthusiastically in the centre.
The senior citizens are collected from their homes once a week for their day out. They have tea and freshly baked scones, and a meal prepared by Gretta O'Connor, the cook. "You wouldn't get better in a hotel," said Nellie Flynn, who has raised 12 children.
There's a nurse on hand and a Medibath and laundry room. A physiotherapist attends once a fortnight. "We also pay a hairdresser and subsidise a chiropodist," said Gemma Hearne, manager of the centre and chairwoman of the committee.
The importance of appropriate exercise for the old is not forgotten. A St Louis nun undertook special training in aerobics for the elderly and has added her skills to the centre's programme.
The senior citizens gather in a bright common room with a blazing fire to chat and read the papers. They do some basic craftwork, making handsome patchwork quilts and cushions. Sale of the products raised over £1,000 for the centre at a Christmas fair last year.
The centre owes a lot to a FAS scheme which facilitated the renovation and redecoration and it continues to provide six workers on a day-to-day basis to help run it.
Now the organising committee of 27 local volunteers is hoping to open the centre five days a week. "We have identified a huge need for meals-on-wheels," said Gemma Hearne, adding that many people "are socially isolated".
Their priority is to get their own bus to take senior citizens for outings. The County Wexford Partnership has already provided £10,000 towards this project.
The group has been fund-raising for years to finance its projects. Fifteen years ago it built 10 houses in Ramsgrange to provide sheltered accommodation. The day-care centre, open two years now, gets a small subvention from the health board.
Liam Fardy, principal of the nearby community school, is a regular caller, offering practical assistance. The school has 360 pupils from a catchment area of only about seven miles in radius. "It's quite highly populated here. There are a lot of little villages."
The students also help out with small jobs. "We see the community school as working in great liaison with our committee," said Mrs Hearne.
The area seems quiet and sparsely populated to the visitor. But the day-care centre caters for five parishes and two GP areas. In one parish alone there are more than 100 people aged over 65 living on their own.
The centre's importance in the lives of the senior citizens is summed up by Nellie Flynn: "It means everything to me."