Big Kildare Interview: Kilcullen resident and carer frustrated over lack of accessibility

Imagine being unable to do most of the things you love, all because the area you live in cannot cater to your basic needs?

This is the reality for one Kilcullen resident: 64-year-old Mary Maguire.

Mary, who is a mother and grandmother, suffers from muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

She has required a motorised chair to move around in public for the last six years, and has required it to move around her home for the last six months.

Although Mary is assisted by her carers Sarah Maher and Margaret Wilson (Mary says she also considers them to be her friends) and her loyal dog Taz, Mary is frustrated with the lack of accessibility in the town that she has lived in for most of her life.

Mary explained: "I can only access maybe two shops in the whole of the town. I’m basically stuck in this house (most of the time)."

She said that while she believes that Kilcullen is 'not a bad town', she stressed that she was disappointed at the lack of accessibility within it, and that the situation has taken a massive toll on her mental health.

Mary also described one instance over Christmas where she managed to travel into Newbridge, but the laborious journey cost her €40 — "As you can imagine, it’s a lot when you’re on disability allowance," Mary added.

The loss of the Kilcullen-Newbridge bus service back in June of last year has had a big impact on Mary.

She explained: "It is a big loss to the town," she said: "And we only found out at the last minute that it was being suspended."

In addition, Mary alleged that many buses on the town-link weren’t looking for disabled passes for the last two years.

When it comes to attending hospital appointments, Mary said: "I can't make my hospital appointments due to having no access to transport."

However, despite this, she insisted that she does not want to be over-reliant on health services.

Mary elaborated: "I just want to be treated like any other person. I want to go out and meet with my friends, and go into the shops I like, I don’t want to be institutionalised.

"I’m not any different than anyone else."

She further said that she believes Ireland needs to do more to help those with disabilities — "Disabled people are probably the most discriminated against in Ireland," Mary said.

Pointing out one example of discrimination she has faced, Mary also described one incident where she attended a pub in County Dublin.

During her time at this pub, she was mistaken for being intoxicated because of her condition ("I struggle with my balance," she explained) and was kicked out of the pub, much to the anger of her and her family.

Sarah also told the Leinster Leader that she has become frustrated at the lack of accessibility available for Mary, and would like to see 'a massive change in everything' to do with disability services in Ireland.

"The behaviour of the Irish people (towards disabled people) needs to change," Mary added.