Active Disability Ireland
announces new Ambassador to the organisation
In an already exciting year for Active Disability Ireland, which has seen them rebrand from Cara Sport Inclusion Ireland and launch an ambitious 5 Year Strategy, the organisation is delighted to announce and work closely with their new ambassador Johnny Quaid.
Johnny is a close friend of the organisation and is inspired by the work that they do. Johnny has reflected on the work that the organisation has done and often reflects and wishes that he was aware of their work when he first acquired his disability. “I always say that it would have been so beneficial to me back in 2006, as a boy who acquired a life changing injury, if I knew of their existence – it would have taken the initial blow of the unknown if I could turn to an organisation such as Active Disability Ireland and to lean on and help me get back on track”.
At the age of 17 Johnny had a workplace accident that resulted in a complete spinal injury. Since then he has been fortunate
with the support and mindset that he has developed to ensure that the opportunities to continue to participate in sport and physical activity are still there for him.
Johnny acknowledges that the support he needed in the early years of his disability weren’t always there and understands the importance of highlighting to others what is possible
Johnny has excelled in his sporting ambitions over the last 17 years and has gone onto establish and captain the first wheelchair basketball senior team in Kerry. From 2008-2010 he represented Ireland at the World Pool Championships in Ireland and the UK and currently is an active hand cyclist. Later this month, Johnny will travel to Athens Greece as part of the Irish delegation to take part in the Para-Olympia project. Johnny is one of 250 delegates from across 12 European countries that will look to see, develop and share his knowledge on the value of inclusion through sport. Speaking on behalf of the Active Disability Ireland, Brenda O’Donnell Interim CEO says that “We are delighted that Johnny is joining our organisation as an ambassador and look forward to learning from Johnny and his experiences in physical activity and sport. We understand the value of shared experiences and know that Johnny’s story and passion will be an inspiration to many others”.
Johnny’s first public appearance for Active Disability Ireland will be at their National Seminar for Inclusion, which will be held on the 29th of November. The theme of the seminar is all about “Creating Opportunities and Choice” and will share some valuable insights into what is happening across the health, education, sport and community sectors. We know that Johnny will have a huge amount to bring to the seminar and leave the audience with some valuable take home messages on the importance of opportunity and what organisations can do to ensure choice for participation is available to everyone. Full details for the seminar are available on our website and all our social media platforms.
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
Sometimes, when I am driving somewhere and I have a bit of time on my hands, I like to go off the beaten track and see a bit more of the country. I’ll bet there are parts of County Limerick that some of you have never seen because they are not on any of the main roads. We all know the villages and towns on the road to Limerick through Newcastle and the coast road from Glin through Askeaton but what about the huge area between those two routes? Likewise there is a big area to the right of the Newcastle West to Limerick road that is less travelled. In theses areas there are lovely villages and vibrant communities. The first impression I got while going through some of them was how clean and tidy most of them were. This may be due to active Tidy Towns committees but a lot of it is down to CE Schemes operating in these areas. Our own village is very lucky to have had a scheme for the past few decades and it has made a huge difference to the area. Every morning the participants on the scheme can be seen picking up the litter and keeping the streets clean. Apart from the work, they have a pride in their own place and want to make it look as good as possible. These schemes started at a time when there was a lot of unemployment in Ireland. The idea behind them was to give part-time employment to those on social welfare and also give them an opportunity to get training on the job. It was a great idea that gave men and women a focus in life rather than lounging around all day and also provided help to community councils, tidy towns committees, schools, halls and churches. Those on the schemes were not very well paid , in fact it wasn’t much more per week than they could get on the dole, but it was on a week on / week off basis and they were encouraged to take any employment going on their week off without fear of losing their money. I have been involved, both as a supervisor and a sponsor, since the schemes began and I have nothing but praise for the men and women I worked with over the years.. There was one group in particular who created problems for me because they were too good!! I found it difficult to keep finding work for them because they would do in a couple of days what I would have thought was enough to keep them busy for the whole week. Of course there were the odd few who were allergic to work but they were the exception rather than the rule. Our area has benefitted greatly from the work of the schemes and continues to do so. Times, however are changing. I don’t know how much longer they will continue because we are almost at full employment in the country and it is getting ever more difficult to fill vacancies. Maybe a change in the criteria for qualifying would help matters. At present a person must be on social welfare for at least 12 months before they are eligible to join a scheme and perhaps that could be relaxed a little. There are also a lot of asylum seekers in the country who could benefit from involvement with communities and earn a bit of money at the same time. I don’t have all the answers but I hope they will come up with something soon or the day is not far off when we won’t have any bodies to keep Athea tidy. As they say: “you’ll never miss the water ‘till the well runs dry”
Young people today can be forgiven for thinking that the people who came before them did not know a lot. How could you live without the internet and social media and how could you survive with just the most basic education?. What they forget is the fact that people had a store of wisdom that was handed down from father to son and mother to daughter. They didn’t need Google to solve life’s everyday problems because they had ready answers for most of them. Today, every doctor’s surgery is full with people suffering from all kinds of ailments. Long ago you didn’t go to the doctor unless you were in danger of death and there was no need because people had cures for most colds, coughs, flus etc and would know what plants and herbs to use. People had a wisdom all of their own and also had ways of spreading that wisdom by the use of “seanfhocail”, old sayings. These were short lines that could also be witty but carried a message just the same. A few examples are as follows:
“Is minic a bhris béal duine a shorn”
Many a time a man’s mouth broke his nose.
I bet there is many a man who wished he had kept his mouth shut before the row started and he finished up with a sore face.
“Ní bhíonn airgead amadáin i bhfad ina phóca.”
A fool’s money doesn’t remain for long in his pocket.
This could also be “a fool and his money are soon parted”. The question is though: how did the fool and his money get together in the first place?
“Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.”
We all exist in each other’s shadow
This refers to community support and the fact that we should all help each other as best we can.
“Is é buille an phinn an buille is fealltaí”.
The pen’s blow is the most treacherous. (The pen is mightier than the sword)
I don’t know if there is much might in this pen but we all know how much damage can be done by a writer with a grudge. I will give it a rest for this week.
Church Notices
Ide Naofe Pastoral Area (Athea, Abbey Feale, Mountcollins, Templeglantine and Tournafulla).Canon Tony Mullins 087 2600414, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Denis Mullane087 2621911 and Fr Dan Lane 087 2533030 (retired). Sunday Duty Oct. 8 th Rev. Fr JMockler 086-2342242
Weekday masses on Tuesday morning at 9.30am and Friday evening at 7pm (first Friday). Eucharistic Adoration & The Devine Mercy Chaplet on Tuesday morning after mass.
Baptisms on the 4 th Saturday of the month at 2.30pm – next date Saturday Oct 21 st
- Next baptism course on Tues Oct 10 th at 8pm, contact Theresa for further details 087-
1513565.
Parish Administration: Tues-Fri 11am-1pm. call Siobhan on 087-3331459, outside
these hours text or email [email protected]
Pastoral Council meeting on Thursday evening at 7.30pm in the sacristy.
Intentions Sat Oct 7 th – Martin Healy (Coole West). Eileen Kirke. Tom O’Halloran. Joan Boylan. John Paul Stack and his parents Phil & Hannah and his sisters Mary & Josie.
(All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea)