Music and photo boxes help bring back the memories for nursing home residents

Specially designed Music And Memories boxes are being used by hundreds of nursing home residents in a pilot programme by Cork City Libraries.

Funded by Cork City Council, 10 different “memory tool kits” contain 20 old photographs of the city from the 1950s-1970s, 15 CDs featuring music residents would be likely to have listened to in their youth, as well as dementia-friendly books and a jigsaw.

Margaret O’Sullivan, executive librarian at the Rory Gallagher Music Library in Cork, said the project had been very successful.

“These are designed to provoke and spark memories because people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s have a problem staying in the present,” she said.

“People sometimes try to pull them into the present, but this can be difficult and not helpful in some cases.

“Showing them old pictures of Cork, they can have conversations, they ask each other if they remember stores being at certain locations and talk about musicians and bands from that period of time.

“They are having sing-songs in the nursing homes while listening to the music we place in the boxes.

“Hundreds of people are getting to see these boxes and it helps each one of them enormously to engage and connect with each other.

“I think there’s huge potential for it to be extended across the country.”

The work of the programme will be showcased on the #YourCouncilDay on July 5. The awareness-raising initiative highlights the role of county and city councils in supporting people in their daily lives.

The boxes are being used in 10 Cork city nursing homes. There is also an ambition to offer them to people with memory problems still living at home in an effort to combat isolation.

Ms O’Sullivan, who has worked for the library service for three decades, added: “I’ve had a lot of people coming into the library asking for music for relatives suffering with memory loss, we have a vast collection of music from this era and we’re very lucky we have a music library here.

“It was like a bolt of lightning when I realised what could be done.”

Supported by senior executive librarian Patricia Looney and city librarian David O’Brien, Ms O’Sullivan secured funding for the pilot through Cork City Council innovation grants.