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Exploring everyday occupations with men of advanced age (85+) living alone in rural Ireland
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Date
2025-06-30
Authors
Hastings, John
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Introduction
The everyday experiences of oldest-old men (85 years and over), particularly those residing alone in Irish rural settings, have been largely overlooked in the existing literature on ageing. Much of the gerontological discourse has tended to either generalise findings across gender or disproportionately focus on older women’s narratives, leaving a critical gap in our understanding of older males’ perspectives about meaning-making. This study gives voice to older men’s personal stories to reveal their meaning-making in the everyday by asking how do men from the oldest-old generation make meaning in their occupational participation, and how is this articulated through narrative construction?
Methods
Using a narrative inquiry approach, five men aged 85 to 92 years shared their personal narratives. An observational component yielded rich information about their daily patterns and routines, interactions, and how they make meaning in everyday environments. Additionally, participant-led occupations involved inviting the men to partake in an occupation of choice, which holds significance for them.
Findings
First, the men reframe diminishing physical capacities not as deficits but as opportunities for personal growth. Rather than passively accept certain deficits of old age identities, the participants engage in an ongoing process of active self-authorship of their identities to craft coherent, meaningful stories. Notwithstanding the everyday challenges of an ageing body, their narrative constructions of the ‘self’ are growing and becoming a vital resource in meaning-making.
Second, memory and place emerge as powerful meaning-makers. Participants’ personal and collective memories serve as vital sources of meaning, allowing a continuously developing narrative identity to adjust to their present circumstances as older adults. Their stories reveal how an evolving sense of self is inextricably entwined with a sense of place, and their stories show how this reciprocal dynamic relationship between person and environment through place-making is crucial to meaning-making.
Third, the findings unveil how belonging operates across a temporal dimension. Seemingly ‘ordinary’ occupations for participants, ranging from volunteering to traditional farming practices, create profound connections across their life histories. To illustrate this, a participant reclaimed engagement in a traditional outdoor occupation. His story demonstrates that re-engaging with a simple agricultural tool to perform a preferred occupation can bridge past identity with remaking meaning in the present.
Discussion
These findings contribute to occupational science by showing how participants’ stories integrate change while sustaining the essential fabric of their occupational identities. Meaning-making in later life extends beyond adapting to change to actively crafting a coherent narrative. This crafting of one’s narrative, akin to the handicraft of darning, does not hide such ongoing repair yet creates something functional and meaningful.
Conclusion
This study challenges us to reconsider how ageing is viewed, particularly for oldest old men living alone in rural settings. It calls for more nuanced, person-centred approaches to recognise the vital role of everyday occupations in fostering belonging and creating meaning.
Description
Controlled Access
Keywords
Belonging , Embodiment , Meaning , Oldest-old , Personal narrative , Storytelling , Temporality
Citation
Hastings, J. 2025. Exploring everyday occupations with men of advanced age (85+) living alone in rural Ireland. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.