Volunteers in Dublin have delivered Christmas trees and dinners to older people, as part of ALONE's Christmas campaign.
The mini trees were delivered fully decorated to all the residents of Willie Bermingham Place, a centre for independent living for older people in Kilmainham.
Among the volunteers was the nephew of the founder of ALONE, Willie Bermingham.
"A lot of the residents haven't had real Christmas trees since they were children," said Andy Kenny, "so it's lovely to be able to bring the smell and the Christmas joy to everyone."
Residents reacted with delight to their deliveries.
"It's just wonderful," said Anne Parsons. "We've been waiting for this day for the last few weeks."
"When my grandchildren come, they love to see it," said Maura Pettifer. "I think it brings a lot of the joy about Christmas to me."
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Among the helpers were some of those displaced by the war in Ukraine.
"I'm living in this community and I need to do something for this community as well. It's just about...friendship...building new connections," said Igor Kokoshko.
Residents also enjoyed a specially prepared Christmas dinner.
The trees were donated by Firtree and the dinners by Fitzgeralds, the Homestead Pub in Cabra.
ALONE will be delivering Christmas hampers and a special Christmas Day dinner delivery for over a thousand older people nationwide.
They have appealing to the public not to forget their older neighbours at Christmas, asking them to "share your warmth" in the form of time and friendship.
