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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
'Parents would come straight from hospital to hand over their babies...'
'You would hear stories of parents coming straight from the hospital to hand over their babies.' Sean Abbott, the outgoing chief executive of Horizons, formerly the Cope Foundation, recalls the early days of his career when parents felt forced to abandon their newborns due to the stigma around disability. For some of these babies, who spent their whole lives being cared for by his organisation, Horizons staff were the closest thing to a family they ever experienced. 'Nobody would come to visit or be in contact. We looked after them for most of their lives,' he told the Irish Examiner. 'Eventually somebody would find out something about the family and try to make a connection. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't. There were some families who didn't want to connect. Myself and other staff got to experience the joy from these people that their families never did. Mr Abbott, who is retiring after more than four decades, acknowledges the considerable progress Ireland has made over the years in supporting people with disability. 'It's impossible to comprehend the changes that have taken place unless you have worked through it. I started here in 1980. Back then you would hear stories of parents coming straight from the hospital to hand over their babies. 'Often they came under a lot of pressure from their families who didn't want the shame of having a child with a disability. In those days, the stigma or idea that these children might be a burden was difficult for many families.' Cope Foundation is now Horizons Horizons is a not-for-profit voluntary organisation which was founded on May 29, 1957 by former lord mayor of Cork, the late John Bermingham, in response to Cork's then polio epidemic. John Bermingham with his daughter Joan on his first day as Cork's lord mayor at Cork City Hall in 1968. He had founded the Cope Foundation the previous year. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive It now cares for some 2,800 people with intellectual disabilities and autism across Cork City and county. Mr Abbott started with the organisation at the tender age of 19. 'I came here for a summer job. My first job was in one of the buildings in Montenotte. A group of young people, many who had Down syndrome, came running towards me, asking me my name and where I was from. "From that day I was hooked. "I stayed on to do the disability nursing training and later became a director of nursing. Then lord mayor Jim Corr conferred the freedom of the City of Cork on John Bermingham on May 24, 1997, 'in appreciation of his remarkable contribution to the personal growth of persons with mild and profound mental handicaps'. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive 'The prevailing attitude from people at that time was that anyone with disabilities needed to be hidden or locked away. "People on nights out would ask me if Cope was a frightening place after learning that I worked there. That wasn't my experience. Cope was a place where people were looked after regardless of their disability. 'Before, you wouldn't see these people in places like shopping centres. Now, they are working there. "They are living their own lives and doing what they want to do. They were restricted for so many years and denied what was possible for them. 'They couldn't have relationships or their own homes. They couldn't have a job. All of these things are possible now for people with disabilities in Ireland.' The Special Olympics had a huge positive impact on public attitudes, he says: When the Special Olympics World Games came to Ireland the whole country celebrated and hosted athletes. I think that was the start of real change for people with disabilities. However, new challenges have emerged for those working in the disability sector — and in particular he cites 'restrictions' which he says are 'horrible'. 'I remember when we could do things for people without even thinking about it. "When somebody had an emergency at home you were able to put an extra bed in a room and bring someone in for a while till it was figured out. 'Now we have to work within Hiqa and government structures. 'It means that families end up in a crisis situation where people are left in emergency departments. "They are in acute services even though they are not sick. The reality is they shouldn't be in hospital. The opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games at Croke Park, Dublin, on June 21, 2003. Picture: Dara Mac Donaill "We had someone recently who was in hospital for 90 days because there was no bed for them.' And the retiring CEO has a strong message for the Government over the desperate shortage of care places and services. 'They don't have to sit in front of an 87-year-old man with a wife with dementia and a daughter with Down syndrome in her 60s, who is seriously struggling. 'I've had 90-year-old women crying in front of me because they can't access care for their sons or daughters. These are the kind of things that keep me up at night. It's not difficult to see the number of older parents of people with disabilities who need support but nobody realises the impact of not having these services. There is too much of a focus on the process and the system and not on the people.' He says the compassion shown by his colleagues over the years is unparalleled. 'People here do things you never hear about. They'll make sure that someone is dressed perfectly for their sister's wedding. They'll take time out of their own lives to go to a special life event with them without any pay. "There was a time when people used to take residents home to stay with them for Christmas.' Sean Abbott is retiring from his role as CEO of Horizons, formerly the Cope Foundation, which cares for some 2,800 people with intellectual disabilities and autism in Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan That doesn't really happen now with the strict safeguarding process. However, people in Horizons have much better lives nowadays so these things are not really needed as much.' Acknowledging how much time has passed can be bittersweet for Sean. 'I go around visiting people who I have known all their lives. I remember them as children in school and now they are in their 50s. You often reflect on experiences you had with them. It's sometimes sad to see how they have changed over the years. People who were once so involved in the community now need fulltime care. The ageing process in some is often a bit more advanced than would be the norm. There was one guy who once knew where everybody was going every morning who made sure that everyone got on the right bus. He went from this to being in a wheelchair and needing to be fed. "That can be difficult but then I think about the kind of life he had and remember how great it was. A lot of people will ask about my wife and children. It's great that they have this ability to connect.' And what does the future hold for Sean, his wife Eucharia, and sons Jeffrey, Daniel, and Samuel? 'I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family, playing a lot of golf and guitar — but I will be back for visits to Horizons. It has been such a huge part of my life. I don't think I'll ever be able to let it go completely.'
Irish Examiner
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Peter Horgan: Cork Luas debate is no tale of two cities. There's just one city — and that's Cork
The kneejerk reaction of any southsider or northsider in Cork when a project is announced is invariably, or so many commentators would have you believe, to narrow the gaze and jab a finger at what 'them over there' got. They. Them. Norries. Southside snobs. It betrays what the real issue must be for us all — namely, does Cork City benefit? As a whole? The rallying cry for many, many years has been that the northside is forgotten while the southside yielded all. But does that really track? Yes, there are announcements and plans and reports and earnest soundbites but is that actually borne out? Public consultation is now open on the proposed route of the 18km Cork Luas light rail line from Ballincollig to Mahon. See link at the foot of this article to learn more and have your say. Let's confine ourselves for now to transport and look at what Michael Moynihan, whose writing I am glued to weekly, highlighted in the recent announcement of the proposed Cork Luas light rail route — a 'Cork Luas South' as he deemed it. The east-west spine proposed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland does stray northside for a short spell along MacCurtain St and that has been picked up as a slight against the northside, with good reason. East-west is the only game in town However, if a real gap has emerged in this Luas preferred route it is the widening absence of a significant southern presence. No spur to Cork Airport to reduce the congestion on Airport Hill and Kinsale Rd. No vision to see a route barrelling beyond Mahon Point and flexing right into the centre of the Link — Korean style — before shooting out to Carrigaline. No consideration of looking to alleviate Douglas traffic or Togher traffic. All this despite in 2023, the All-Island Strategic Rail Review establishing that 'The Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy includes proposals for a tram route between Mahon and Ballincollig, which in the longer term could extend south to Cork Airport and Carrigaline.' Michael Moynihan highlighted historic northside-southside tram services including Blackpool-Douglas, Tivoli-Blackrock — and, here in March 1931, Summerhill to Sunday's Well. All long gone. East-west is the only game in town now. Irish Examiner Archive This writer made a submission to that All-Island Strategic Rail Review to say it should be changed from 'could' to 'must' but Monday's launch showed that the only game in town at present is east to west. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't advocate for the routes to be incorporated in plans. For all the fanfare around the Luas route, it still doesn't have a final budget line and no real timeline. Those sitting in traffic south and north of the Lee on Monday, hearing the news of the route, will hardly have been overjoyed because it's not happening anytime soon. Why wait? Why not at least show where a spur could happen? M28, M20, the airport, and Ringaskiddy The M28 motorway now has Cabinet approval and yet there are mutterings that, by the time it is built, it will be obsolete for the requirements the port will have in Ringaskiddy. Why not a mixture of heavy rail linking Cork Airport to the port to continue on to link on to the often talked-about but yet to be realised, M20. If we were truly southernly blessed with preferential bias on the southside why wasn't the M28 looped across to Cork Airport to allow such a Luas add-on, rather than running a coach and four through the communities of Mount Oval and Maryborough? Maryborough Hill, which has this lofty vision associated with it, is still, in road terminology, a local tertiary road. Yet we pummel the residents with heavy traffic layered upon rat runs through existing and new housing areas. Commuter rail will serve the northside We have no commuter rail on the southside of the city. In his column last week, Michael Moynihan scrolls back to the old days of Blackpool to Douglas and Blackrock to Tivoli. AJ Cronin with a simple two-word mission statement as Iarnród Éireann keeps pushing for higher frequency train services on the three lines between Cork and Midleton, Mallow, and Cobh, and all points in between — including new stations. Picture: David Creedon But the announcement and opening on Monday of the new platform at Kent Station and the continued rollout of the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme doesn't benefit any sort of travel, sustainable, active, or otherwise, in the southside. Because you are driving to get to the train. From this southsider, it's right and proper that the Cork commuter rail project is rolled out with speed. Trains from Blackpool, Blarney, and Monard The impressive zeal with which AJ Cronin, Iarnród Éireann delivery manager for Cork, has brought forward platform openings and signalised works might not mean much to the casual observer but it allows the provision of the 10-minute frequency between Mallow and Cobh. That's not the northside, but it includes new stations to support the planned increased services at Blarney, Monard, Blackpool/Kilbarry, Tivoli, Dunkettle, Carrigtwohill West, Water Rock, and Ballynoe, some of which are. Iarnród Éireann Kent Station manager Ray Foley at the new €23m Platform 6, part of the first phase of heavy rail investment in the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme. Picture: Jason Clarke We need those stations in Blackpool, Blarney, and Monard in order to open up the population there linking into Kent and dispersing them to major hubs of employment like Mahon Point, Ballincollig, and Ringaskiddy. 'Living in Cobh, working in Ballincollig' A 10-minute frequency is needed because living in Mallow or Cobh and working in Ballincollig or Mahon Point is a real thing and those people are stuck in Dunkettle every day. What side of the river does Dunkettle fall on, by the way? On more immediate transport options on the southside, the timelines are still sketchy at best. Where are our park and rides? One on the southside, and you're practically into town already if you were to utilise it from most places south of the Lee. No park and ride in Shannonpark, none emerging beyond Wilton, none to alleviate any side of the Lee. As a city councillor, I am responsible for continuing to advocate for them to be built, but one must only look at the traffic daily in the morning and evening at Bloomfield causing the situation of congestion to be so bad that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (remember them from earlier?) are now forced to roll out tow-away services in an attempt to keep traffic moving when collisions occur. Douglas & Carrigaline wait for Bus Connects Douglas and Carrigaline, the two towns south of the river ignored by the Luas, are awaiting the rollout of Cork Bus Connects — but not the one you think of. Bus Connects is much more than the sustainable transport corridors tied up in pre-CPO correspondence. Rather, it is ensuring the frequency infrastructure is put in place to show people the benefits of public transport: Moving the 207 to an every 20-minute service rather than the current times; Moving the 223 to every half hour rather than every hour, and double deckering the service, to support harbour towns such as Passage along into Rochestown and Douglas. The congestion that gnarls up the southside can be reduced if we frontload our public transport options but we're looking at 2027 for this to occur. I'm not one to constantly polarise the supposed split in our city but too many politicians have hijacked it for too long. It's lazy and simplistic and belies the truth that we should be shouting, like we do in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and hope to do in Croker this summer — for Cork. All of Cork. Let's work to see a better infrastructure that serves everyone. Otherwise Dublin will just sit back and laugh. And who wants that? • Peter Horgan is a Cork City councillor in the South East Ward for Labour, and serves as chairman of the council's transport and mobility strategic policy committee • The public consultation on the proposed Cork light rail route is open at You have until Monday June 9 at 5.30pm to respond.
