SINCE LAST OCTOBER, the day room of the sheltered housing complex at St Helena's Court in Finglas has been buzzing with activity two mornings a week as a group of older people from the area participate in a pilot project for the University of the Third Age (U3A).

The participants range in age from 68 to 79, years and for most this is their first contact with "learning" for many years.

U3A aims to provide educational opportunities for older people in a flexible, comfortable and non competitive environment. There are no exams, no rigid structures and no set locations for courses.

Many groups have formed and attached themselves to community centres; others are being run out of university departments and in some areas people have opted to set up "learning circles" in their homes.

"The idea is to bring the university to where the people are, and because some older people may have disabilities or mobility problems, the groups are formed where they can be easily accessed," explains Therese Kearns of Age Action Ireland, which is funding the U3A projects with a grant from the Calouste Oulbenkian Foundation, which also supports the U3A in Britain and Northern Ireland.

"The `third age' refers to people who have finished their main parenting responsibilities or ceased full time employment, and the idea is to develop learning co operatives which encompass educational, creative, social and recreational activities," she says.

One of the prime movers behind the pilot was clinical psychologist Aideen Lewis, who works with the Eastern Health Board's north Dublin psychology team. "From my experience of working with older people I felt there was a need for something that had a different emphasis to mainstream day care," she says.

"There was a need for something that would be stimulating, that would involve people in their own learning and give them an interest outside their home life. The benefits likely to result from this would be increased life satisfaction and improvements in general health.

"There are few educational or social provisions for older people in society, particularly for those who may have been ill or marginalised for some reason, and I felt that U3A could fill that gap. We started in October and I judged the pilot's success by the fact that when we broke up for Christmas, people were asking about when we were starting again."

Felix Kane has participated in the pilot since the beginning. While he was not too keen on joining in the arts and crafts session going on when E&L visited, he chose to come anyway because he "enjoyed the atmosphere of the group".

Patricia Cody agrees: "It is nice to have the company and to get out of the house, but we have also enjoyed the different activities they've done with us."

Their views were supported by Elizabeth Campbell, Eileen Conroy and Annie Crooke, who variously described their twice weekly classes as "relaxing", "enjoyable" and "good for the mind".

Keeping a watching brief on the proceedings is Valerie Ruddell a local woman who works at the sheltered housing complex where she also organises the catering for the residents. "I think participation in the pilot has made a big difference to all those involved," she says. "When they came first they were very quiet and shy, but now they get on very well as a group and they look forward to coming.

"They have produced some lovely work since October in their arts and crafts classes, they acted out a play they've done something on folklore and they've had movement to music. I think it has been very good for their confidence and self esteem all round."

Instructing the participants in the finer aspects of shell craft at their arts and crafts session was art graduate Lucina Russell, who is working with the pilot under the Community Enterprise scheme. She is part of the Finglas based Art Squad, which also works in local schools.

According to Aideen Lewis, this co operation between different community and educational groups within the Finglas area has been an important factor in making the pilot work.

"We have had tremendous support from a number of groups, including the Finglas Partnership and the VEC, which has given us teaching hours to support the project," Lewis says. "We believe that the concept of the U3A is applicable throughout Ireland and that it could bring a much needed dimension to the lives of older people.

"We are very pleased that the idea has been so well received, and there are now a number of projects either up and running or in the pipeline - including ones in Longford, Galway and Roscommon.