Irish community activists in New York are spearheading a senior citizen census in response to the death of County Mayo native Anthony Gallagher, 72.

Gallagher lay dead in his Sunnyside, Queens apartment for several days before his body was discovered on Thursday, Dec. 11. His family believes he died of a heart attack.

The circumstances surrounding Gallagher's death frightened and concerned the Irish community, inspiring Ciaran Staunton, vice-chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, and other Irish activists to reach out to Queens' aging community.

"No one knew he existed. That's the problem. That's what we intend to change," said Staunton.

Local Irish groups are proposing the opening of drop-in centers for elderly Irish people living in Queens. These centers will be modeled after successful examples in England, specifically a Leeds center that caters up to 200 people.

The proposed centers will provide support for Queens' elderly, as well as help to build a stronger sense of community among the Irish in the area.

"We need social workers to go into each church and find out who the elderly Irish are," said Staunton. "We have to reach out to them as soon as possible."

But the main challenge Staunton expects to face is convincing elderly immigrants to become involved with the centers. "The people who came here in the 1950s were a proud group. They pride themselves on not taking charity," he said.

"We need to create comfort levels on a weekly and daily basis, which takes time. We are a long way away from that goal."

Serving as proof of the Irish community's sense of urgency in this matter, the census has already begun, with volunteers knocking door to door and working with community leaders to register the elderly.

Furthermore, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin has ensured the Irish government will do its best to keep in contact with elderly citizens living abroad.

Staunton has petitioned Martin for funding on the project. "Not too often does a Taoiseach get praised, but when Brian Cowen was minister for foreign affairs he was instrumental in funding services here. Now that Micheál Martin has stepped into Mr. Cowen's shoes we have been met with nothing but a positive response."

The group plans to meet with Martin in January to further discuss the issue.

In the meantime, efforts will continue to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

"It took Tony Gallagher's death for people to stand up," Staunton said. "Now we need to reinvest in our community."